Of its 18th store opening Thursday, Blue Nile CEO Sean Kell says the brand is excited to open its first Houston location with the promise of bringing “world-class service” and an array of the brand’s jewelry to clients.
Blue Nile will open its first-ever flagship showroom at The Galleria, which the company describes as Houston’s largest shopping destination. The goal is to highlight Blue Nile’s expertise in engagement rings, wedding bands, and other fine-jewelry essentials while giving consumers a luxury experience inside the store, Kell says.
“With enhanced features like private consultation rooms for one-on-one appointments with a Blue Nile personal jeweler to intimate spaces for celebrating a proposal, anniversary, or other special moment either privately or with family members and friends, we’ve created a premium experience for our clients,” Kell says via email.
The Galleria location brings the brand’s omnichannel experience to life. For example, online customers can see a larger assortment of the jewelry from the Blue Nile website in the store, and they can receive customer care directly from a personal jeweler or one of the store’s diamond experts.
The private consultation rooms also will allow customers to book hour-long appointments with one of these experts or a personal jeweler, giving them time and a space to discuss a custom piece that they can examine before purchasing. Walk-in appointments also are available.
The overall store also includes a lounge space with casual seating where people can sit comfortably, hanging out with family or friends. The retail areas also feature Blue Nile’s collections such as Astor by Blue Nile and the Extraordinary collection as well as pieces from Dallas jeweler Bella Vaughan.
In other store-opening news:
• On April 15, Sissy’s Log Cabin broke ground on its new Laurelwood Shopping Center store location and announced becoming the official jeweler of the Memphis Grizzlies and FedExForum. Designed by architect Jesse Balaity, the new 9,000-square-foot store will be the newest addition to the Laurelwood Shopping Center. The building will be surrounded by green space, parking with dedicated security, and modern structural elements with designated space for Sissy’s expanded lines such as Rolex and Cartier, diamonds, estate jewelry, and more. The current Sissy’s location in Laurelwood will remain open during construction.
• On Monday Brilliant Earth announced its newest showroom opening in Bethesda, Md. This marks the 16th showroom for Brilliant Earth and “advances the company’s initiative to deliver an omnichannel experience to consumers nationally,” the company said in a statement. As the second location for the greater D.C. metro area, the Brilliant Earth showrooms serve as a compliment its digital channels, which allow customers to shop for jewelry how, when, and where they want, and in a way that transitions seamlessly between an online and in-person shopping experience, the company said. The Bethesda showroom is located at 4733 Elm Street in Bethesda Row.
• Last week, Rahaminov Diamonds announced that it had opened a new boutique in The Vault at The Saks Shops at Greenwich in Connecticut. The opening marks the brand’s second-ever brick-and-mortar location in its more than 80-year history and comes after its first boutique opening late last year at Tiny Jewel Box in Washington, D.C. The new location occupies approximately 365 square feet within The Vault, a Saks Fifth Avenue store dedicated to high-end fine jewelry. The boutique features one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces alongside signature styles and collections including the Flower, Buttercup, and Branch.
Top: Blue Nile is opening its 18th location Thursday in Houston, bringing its omnichannel shopping experience to consumers who want to meet in person with private jewelers or see what they can experience online (photos courtesy of Blue Nile).
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