What’s Next for Zadok Jewelers?
Dror and Helene Zadok set up shop in Houston in 1976. Now their
three sons are running Zadok Jewelers, and middle son Segev, 33, this
issue’s Innovative Retailer, is leading the store’s expansion into a
larger bridal salon, e-sales, and online programming with Zadok TV. “We
are basically always implanting something new to do something positive
in the community,” says Segev.
How are you staying innovative online?
We are redesigning our website to be another bridge to our customers or potential customers. We had to link our internal ASC to a back-end program called ShopIgniter to be more efficient for e-commerce. We are going to start with selling diamonds online and then sell engagement rings and other bridal jewelry, as well. We are also going to have Zadok TV on our website. We’ll be interviewing a lot of brand founders and presidents when they come in. We’ll ask them to tell us and our customers more about what is hot and what is soon coming out.
What about in social media and online marketing?
We do a lot of standard mainstream marketing, but now we want to integrate that with new media, through our blog and using Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to help us engage the younger clients who use the web to educate themselves about jewelry and diamond purchases. We are putting a lot of money into SEO, so that we’re found when you search for diamonds or a jewelry store in Houston. Also, through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, we’ll be showcasing our store expansion. We are in the middle of expanding our store, and we are going to make a splash with that. I think people want to see that you are moving forward, that you aren’t stale, that you are doing something—adding new lines, having shows. They just want to see you keep moving.
Many jewelers are doing Sex and the City 2-themed promotions. What are your own big plans for SATC2?
We are having a Sex and the City 2 premiere party in the store on June 9 and are inviting approximately 400 people. We rented out our own private movie theater. We’ll have a red carpet out front, and we’re bringing in three jewelry vendors: Ippolita, A & Furst, and Bedat & Co., who are innovative, fashion-oriented brands. The event benefits a camp for children with disabilities, which is a connection through several clients involved with the charity. For the first Sex and the City in 2008, we brought in H.Stern, the jewelry in the movie, and we sold out the whole theater. It was a very successful event.
What is the biggest mistake most jewelry retailers make?
Not investing in technology, from an internal standpoint—for example, the software to manage the inventory, your customer base, and CAD.
What do you advise your store staff?
Don’t oversell. Some salespeople just talk and talk and talk. They try to let the client know every single thing that they know about a product in the five minutes they are with them.