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In an period the place most purchasing occurs with the clicking of a button, and retail has change into more and more impersonal, Polacheck’s Jewelers stands aside. The Calabasas luxurious retailer is greater than a retailer—it is a weekend vacation spot. Rich clients browse manufacturers reminiscent of Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Cartier whereas having fun with meals and refreshments and chatting with an knowledgeable employees.
“I’ve turned all my shoppers into buddies,” says proprietor Brent Polacheck. “It is necessary for me to know who’s spending cash with me as a result of we’re gonna spend hopefully 10, 20, 30 years collectively.”
The enterprise started 101 years in the past when Ben Tipp opened a small diamond retailer in Seattle. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1949, it turned considered one of America’s premier luxurious retailers. Polacheck is the fourth era to run his household enterprise.
With a bridal case displaying ten-carat diamonds and watches that may price upwards of $2 million, Polacheck’s is not for everybody. Nevertheless it understands the worth of what issues most: constructing multi-generational relationships and offering a memorable expertise. His strategy presents helpful classes for entrepreneurs in any business.
In a current look on the One Day with Jon Bier podcast, Polacheck shared insights on constructing an enduring luxurious retail enterprise within the age of Amazon.
Create an expertise price returning to
Whereas many luxurious retail chains really feel equivalent and impersonal, Polacheck’s has change into a group hub. Saturdays remodel the shop right into a social vacation spot, full with drinks and sushi.
“Should you’re gonna go spend your cash someplace, would not or not it’s in a fantastic surroundings?” Polacheck asks.
The secret’s making service private and memorable – from making certain employees are consultants of their discipline to creating an environment the place clients and their households really feel genuinely welcome, not simply tolerated.
Construct lasting relationships, not transactions
For Polacheck, enterprise means taking lunch with shoppers, internet hosting watch collectors’ dinners, and even organizing journeys to Geneva for auctions together with his most devoted clients. When a shopper calls a couple of reward, his staff will textual content images and deal with reward wrapping, saving them a visit to the shop. This private strategy extends past single purchases – he actively vets potential clients, specializing in these inside a 15-20 mile radius who can change into a part of the shop’s group relatively than one-time patrons from out of state. The lesson? In luxurious retail, constructing deep connections with the fitting clients issues greater than maximizing particular person gross sales.
Keep alert to altering markets
Success in luxurious retail requires staying vigilant and seizing alternatives earlier than opponents can act. When Polacheck discovered one other seller was contemplating opening within the Topanga space, he moved shortly to safe the situation himself. Now he is constructing a 3,500-square-foot Rolex boutique there, considered one of solely about 20 in america. On the similar time, he is renovating his flagship retailer and planning a brand new Patek Philippe location.
Select your clients properly
With hundreds of orders and restricted stock, Polacheck rigorously vets who will get every watch.
“Promoting a unit simply to promote a unit is senseless these days,” he says.
His staff focuses on clients inside a 15-20 mile radius who will change into long-term shoppers, relatively than out-of-area patrons who would possibly flip watches for fast earnings. The strategy means turning away some straightforward gross sales, significantly from resellers. However discovering the fitting buyer, not the right-now buyer, is price its weight in gold.
In the present day, Polacheck’s is increasing with new areas, together with a standalone Rolex boutique opening quickly in Topanga. As Polacheck prepares his personal youngsters to ultimately take over the enterprise – together with his daughter who’s gaining expertise at one other jewellery retailer in Vermont – he is seeing his clients’ youngsters changing into the subsequent era of shoppers.
“A variety of my clients are having their children are available—meaning we’re doing one thing proper.”