Hall of Fame inductee Eiseman goes extra mile

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Hall of Fame inductee Eiseman goes extra mile

For customers of Eiseman Jewels, anything is possible.

By Catherine Dayrit

January 11, 2010

Richard Eiseman Jr. of Eiseman Jewels in Dallas was inducted into National Jeweler's 22nd Annual Retailer Hall of Fame in the single-store independent category.

Editor's note: This week, NationalJeweler.com will run profiles of the three retail jewelers who were inducted into National Jeweler's 22nd Annual Retailer Hall of Fame Friday night. The inductees were honored at a gala dinner at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, held in conjunction with the Jewelry Information Center's 8th Annual Gem Awards.

Dallas--As the son of retail jewelers, Richard Eiseman Jr. learned the ropes of the family business at a young age--while working in the store stacking boxes to earn his allowance, and while sitting at the dinner table.

Among his earliest experiences, though, one memory stands out. One Christmas morning, Eiseman's father received an early morning call and rushed out to meet a client.

"[The client previously] had been looking at this fabulous piece of jewelry and he just didn't reach his conclusion before leaving," Eiseman says.

But he did come to a decision on Christmas morning when, alas, the store was closed. Eiseman's dad called the vault manager and a security guard from the store's shopping center before he placed the piece in the client's hands.

"He made that a very special Christmas for that lady and that gentleman," Eiseman says. "That sort of [service] really is the flavor of our company. It's not saying 'no,' and it's figuring out a way to make something that seems impossible, possible."

Maybe it was a case of déjà vu, then, or perhaps an example of Eiseman truly being his father's son when, years later, Eiseman jumped aboard a plane headed from Dallas to Colorado to bring a client a custom ring for a special occasion that same evening.

That willingness to make it right and to personalize the client experience are among the same values Richard Eiseman Sr. and his wife, Louise, set forth when they used their savings to open Eiseman Jewels back in 1963.

They are also among the attributes that helped make Eiseman an inductee into National Jeweler's Retailer Hall of Fame in the single-store independent category, as well as a noted destination for Dallas' well-heeled and discerning shoppers.

While the operation has undergone many changes in its 46 years--from its start in a leased space at Dallas' Titche-Goettinger department store right through to the store it now runs at a prime corner spot in the upscale NorthPark Center--it remains firmly anchored by its family roots.

"The values that we hold at the highest level of importance as a company, these were cornerstones set by my parents," Eiseman, now president and chief executive officer, says. "They regard honesty and integrity first and foremost."

Under his leadership, Eiseman has taken the foundation laid by his father--who set the operation's standards in style, taste, value, integrity and service--and grown the business further by paying attention to profit and equity value.

"Eiseman now includes a very strong trade name, an exquisite inventory that tends to be an owned inventory, and a strong cash reserve for opportunity acquisitions," Eiseman says.

The store has drawn in eight figures for at least the last 10 to 15 years--quite a coup given that it closes each evening at 6 p.m. and on Sunday, and that it counts De Beers, Tiffany & Co., Neiman Marcus and Cartier as its shopping center neighbors.

But being the only independent, family-owned operation of the lot is an asset, Eiseman says.

"The key is, we have the flexibility without the burden of a corporate structure to service the clients and the clients' needs responsibly and quickly, and make things happen," Eiseman says.

Running a thriving business, Eiseman has been offered opportunities to open additional stores, but it's a move he has resisted.

"When you have a single store, you have intimacy, exclusivity and consistency, coupled with expertise; you lose that with multiple stores," he says.

It also helps that the retailer has attracted a top-notch, relationship-driven sales and merchandising team that proudly plays to the tastes of its clients, with offerings from brands such as Seaman Schepps, Mikimoto, Gurhan, Rolex and Jaeger-LeCoultre, plus the retailer's own proprietary collection.

The operation's limited hours help to keep an A-team in the store, Eiseman says, and two sales associates are instructed to work with each client to help build long-term relationships.

Caring for employees is also a top priority. Eiseman's parents initiated a company-funded pension plan for staff, still in effect today, and the store's limited business hours were put in place to encourage staff to spend leisure time with their families.

Though Eiseman knows what he has to do to make a sale, family life remains of the utmost importance.

A bit of a conundrum surfaced when a client called and asked Eiseman to meet on the same day he was set to take his son on an Indian Guide camp-out.

"[The client] said, 'You let me know what works for you, because your family comes first,'" Eiseman recalls.

He gracefully asked the customer to wait, and in the end, that customer was won over by the jeweler's devotion to family.

"That was well over a million dollar transaction," he says. "For him to teach me that and still make the sale, that was one of the great ones."

Eiseman's recession-beating tips:

Know who and what you want to be as a jeweler in your community.
Do not change your DNA--in pricing, style or selection.
Think about how you treat the people with whom you have business relationships: your personnel, your designers and your customers.

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Hall of Fame inductee Eiseman goes extra mile

For customers of Eiseman Jewels, anything is possible.

About Retail

Color coordinating at Solomons Jewelers

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