Ever shop in the Mall for Jewelry? Did you ever notice that a lot of the Jewelry Stores carry just about the
same merchandise?
It's true! The same items, the same policies, the same sales and promotions... It doesn't make for very good competition or comparison, now does it?
How is anyone supposed to get a real deal? They're all the same! Duplicate items Ten Thousand strong!
There's a very good reason why a lot of the Pieces, Prices and Policies are the same. And that's because a lot of these Jewelry Stores are owned by the same corporation. Huge Parent Companies with thousands of Stores and bulk loads of inventory!
Take Sterling Inc. for our first example. Sterling has over 1300 Jewelry Stores nationwide. They have them all over the country under 12 different Brand names. A lot of these names will be very familiar to you. (Highly Commercialized!) You could probably walk into any Shopping Mall and see at least 2 or 3 of them at any given time.
A local Mall near me hosts 3 of their Chain Stores. (And there's only 6 Jewelers in the Mall!) They are: Kay Jewelers, J.B. Robinson Jewelers and Osterman Jewelers. It's almost shocking to find that many stores all owned by the same company under one roof. 3 out of 6? Wow!
The list of Sterling Inc. (Signet Group in the UK) Brand Names are:
- Kay Jewelers
- Jared the Galleria of Jewelers
- J.B. Robinson Jewelers
- Marks & Morgan Jewelers
- Belden Jewelers
- Weisfield Jewelers
- Osterman Jewelers
| - Friedlanders Jewelers
- Rogers Jewelers
- Goodman Jewelers
- LeRoys Jewelers
- Shane's Jewelers
- H. Samuel (UK)
- Ernest Jones (UK)
|
So it's no wonder as you shop from store to store that you'll see all the same products with all the same prices. (
Don't want to under-cut their own stores!) Even their catalogs look similar. Hmmm...
Zales Jewelers is another big corporation with 690 Stores all across the country. They operate under the multiple names of:
- Zales Jewelers
- Gordon's Jewelers
- Peoples Jewelers (Canada)
| - Mappins (Canada)
- Piercing Pagoda
- Zales Outlet Diamond Store
|
You see, big Corporations are taking over the mall. Is there any room left for the little guy?
Samuels Jewelers is another big company with 132 Brand Name stores. (Owned by Gitanjali USA - part of the De Beers site holder company, Digico Group). Their Jewelry Store Names are:
- Samuels Jewelers
- Samuels Diamonds
- Schubach Jewelers
| - Rogers Jewelers
- Andrews Jewelers
|
Fred Meyer Jewelers (400 Stores) is in the same boat. They have stores by different names and even have some in the Kroger Food Stores. (
Would you like a Potato with your Carat?) Their Names are:
- Fred Meyer Jewelers
- Littman Jewelers
- Fred Meyer Market Place Stores
| - Kroger Market Place Stores
- Barclay Jewelers
|
Now, it is refreshing to see that there are some Jewelers out there that only operate
under One Brand Name. (Which also means they'll have only
One Jewelry Store in the Mall -
Yeah!) Jewelry Stores like:
- Goldsmith Jewelers
- Ultrastores Jewelers
- Reeds Jewelers
- The Jewelry Exchange
- Helzberg Jewelers (230 Stores)
| - Bailey Banks & Biddle Jewelers
- Rogers & Hollands Jewelers
- Ross & Simons Jewelers
- Tiffany & Co. Jewelers (150 Stores)
- Shane Co. Jewelers (20 Stores)
|
The bottom line is, it's good to know who you're dealing with and what the companies are. Because if you're shopping and comparing prices in the Mall, and doing so at the same company... It isn't a real comparison! "
The prices are the same everywhere I go, so I might as well buy it!" ???
Fair?
To really compare prices and Jewelry, you really need to compare companies inside and outside of the mall as well! Now there's nothing wrong with shopping from these huge corporations... They have good products and good prices and policies... But why do they need so many stores with so many different names in the same mall?
Think about it... If you were to ever have a problem with one Jewelry Store (It happens), and you swear to yourself that you'll never shop there again... Guess what? The next Jeweler down the line could be the same exact company! Not cool!
So shop and compare Jewelry AND Jewelry Stores! They are not all the same! Compare Corporate Jewelers to Independent Jewelers. You never know, you may find some pretty cool stuff! Plus, it's the only way to truly know if you're getting the best goods at the best deals.
And that's thinking outside of the box!
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Copyright © 12-27-2009 Jewelry-Secrets.com
