Robbins Brothers Jewelers Lincoln Park

A friend of mine has a family member who was hired by a jewelry company that opened up three stores in the Chicago area.  Two are in the suburbs and one is in the city.  When my friend’s family member was first hired, this person was enthusiastic, excited and passionate.  This is about the days that led to the dying of this passion. 

From what I was told, of the three stores, the Lincoln Park location was expected to be, no pun intended, a crown jewel.  A jewelry store in Lincoln Park would easily be expected to fit that billing, considering the high income level and demographics of that neighborhood.  When Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, they think of young, upwardly mobile professionals, people with high incomes and a good amount of disposable income, and those who are able and willing to spend money on luxury items.  When we Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, we think of north Halsted, Clark street, and in the general fashionista districts  close to DePaul.  It is that walkable area best served by high foot traffic. 

Herein is problem number one:  location, location, location, or rather, lack of it.  Their  "Lincoln Park" is actually not in the Lincoln Park that we think of, but on the 2100 block of North Elston.  This is an area best reserved for those planning a big box retailer trips by car.  Location wise, this is not Lincoln Park in terms of Trixies and the trendanistas and people who normally walk to their boutique stores. 

This leads into problem number two.  Besides their obviously stellar poor choice in geographic location, there appears to be a problem in effectively reaching the demographic of 'buyers of engagement rings.'  I was told that they were advertising on stations to reach 20-30 year olds.  This is an interesting choice, since people get married at all ages.  WE also know that the boomer market is graying and this segment is in the remarriage market.  Also, people delay their marriages, often focusing on developing their careers first, creating a demographic segment that easily ranges from 30-40 plus.  In marketing WOM (word of mouth), one doesn’t just want to reach the end consumer, because brand awareness is important for 'influencers' as well.  Influencers can be parents, friends, mentors, relatives, as well as consumer experts, etc. 

I was told that they did do “something” in the area of public relations, so I agreed to take a look at it for this person.  If they are spending money on marketing for the Chicago store, it doesn't appear to provide any long range benefit (read: brand building), nor does it appear to have any strategic focus.  It appears to have been done just for attention, otherwise known as publicity.  This included publicity during their opening day (Lincoln Park), and ramping up some attention getting aspects for Valentine's Day.   One shot publicity events are not brand builders.  Effective marketing is all about creating the customer experience, which also goes to creating an atmosphere by employees.  If employees are unhappy and disgruntled and are treated unfairly, or there is a perception that they are being treated unfairly, this creates a pallor.

Enthusiasm and passion are energies that translate from employees to the store and create 'atmospherics.'  There are other things that create atmospherics too, but employee 'energy' is a big part of it, and if it's faked the customer feels it, which encourages them to flee.  That creates negative "word of mouth," and no business strives for that.  This is a company that really need to invest money in developing a marketing strategy and public relations (not publicity) campaign and implement the type of programs that will make their company stand out and give people a reason to go to the Lincoln Park store.  The way things look right now, it's NOT a destination store.

Why are we writing about them?  Because a business that opens up effects not only the people that work there, but their families and the community is serves.  In this one example, a family member of a dear friend of mine was affected by their poor decision making.  Their errors in decision making led to downsizing and people losing their jobs, which in turn has effected their families.  We are also posting this blog on the oft chance that someone who is in their corporate headquarters is not well informed about what is going on here in Illinois, and wonders why a store in a supposed "hot" locale is yielding cold sales.