Shreve, Crump & Low Gets New President
Shreve, Crump & Low of Boston – which calls itself the oldest continuously operating jewelry store in North America – has made two top management changes as part of an organizational restructuring.
Richard Wycherley, formerly with Bally of Switzerland and Alfred Dunhill in England, was named president. Kevin Jenness, who was president under the former organizational setup, was named vice president of marketing and communications.
The appointments of the two men are the culmination of several years of growth at Shreve, Crump & Low, says Barrie D. Birks, chairman of the company.
As president, Wycherley will be responsible for promoting the store’s brand name identity, spurring growth within existing markets, and expanding into new locations.
He comes to the upscale jewelry firm with 31 years in luxury retail. From 1976 to 1992, he led the repositioning of the Alfred Dunhill Co. in the United Kingdom into a global luxury brand for men. In 1993, he joined Bally as managing director and
was responsible for its retail and wholesale operations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. In 1995, he was appointed chairman, president, and CEO of Bally’s North American operations.
Jenness had been president of Shreve, Chump & Low for 10 years. During his tenure, he developed the firm’s reputation for quality merchandise and service, while showcasing new and exciting design, said a company spokesperson.
In his new position, Jenness will focus his attention on the company’s marketing and communications programs.
Shreve, Crump & Low traces its origins to 1796 and operates two stores in Boston.
INDUSTRY VETERAN TAKES POST AT DCI
Alan J. Katz has been appointed executive vice president of new business development at Diamond Club International (DCI) in Lanham, Md. DCI was created in 1996 as a division of International Trade Associates, a privately funded international trade and marketing firm. DCI offers consumers direct access to diamonds through “The Diamond Pak,” a free information package that can be ordered from 800 numbers in infomercials and television spots.
Katz began his career in the jewelry industry at Zale Corp., where he worked for 25 years, rising from management trainee to corporate vice president of Zales Jewelers. Since leaving Zale in 1991, he has worked as a consultant with a number of retail operations, including Nathan’s Jewelers and Henry Silverman Jewelers, in addition to serving as executive vice president of Optical Corporation of America.
PROGRAM IN PARIS, TEXAS HAS NEW DIRECTOR
Teressa Shannon has been named director of the Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas. The institute, begun in 1942 as a watch repair school to train disabled World War II veterans, currently offers programs in jewelry technology, gemology, and watch repair and offers associate degrees as well as certificates of completion.
Prior to her appointment, Shannon was director of the Upper East Texas Tech Prep School to Work Partnership and director of the Educational Opportunity Center, both located on the campus of Paris Junior College.
DPS NAMES TWO REGIONAL DIRECTORS
The Diamond Promotion Service at the J. Walter Thompson Co. in New York has added two new regional directors to its team. M’Linda McGuire has been named regional director for the Southwest region, which comprises Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississippi. Julie Cohen is the new regional director for the Southeast region, encompassing Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each will be responsible for helping retailers use DPS’s strategies and educational resources to stimulate sales of bigger, better-quality diamonds.
McGuire has nearly 15 years’ experience in the jewelry industry. Most recently, she was a sales representative for Stephen L. Singer Inc. of New York City, specializing in estate sales. Cohen joins DPS from Maier & Berkele in Atlanta, where she was an account manager in the corporate division.
PEARL CONSORTIUM ADDS TO ITS TEAM
The South Sea Pearl Consortium has named Claudio Pagani as its international promotions manager. Pagani, based in Milan, Italy, has more than 25 years’ experience in international marketing, eight of them in the jewelry industry. Previously, he was jewelry manager-Europe at the World Gold Council and Emagold Secretary General-Europe.
Pagani will spearhead translation of the consortium’s upcoming consumer campaign to differing regions, cultures, and markets. In addition, he plans to establish consortium regional offices in Europe, America, and Asia and to develop the membership program.
Also at the consortium, Gerhard Hahn GMbH, a German wholesaling firm, has become an advisory member. The firm will be represented by Michael and Catherine Hahn. The addition of Gerhard Hahn brings the total number of members to 28.
APPOINTMENTS
Scott Woodward has been named senior vice president/chief marketing officer, global marketing at Movado Group Inc. in New York. Movado Group designs, manufactures, and distributes Movado, Concord, ESQ, and Coach watches and is the exclusive North American distributor of Piaget and Corum. Woodward was a vice president of corporate marketing at Calvin Klein Inc. and director of the global image marketing group for Bausch & Lomb’s Ray-Ban sunglasses brand.
Reza Alavi is the new master jeweler at Hamilton Jewelers in Lawrenceville and Princeton, N.J. Alavi is 1979 graduate of the Gemological Institute of America jewelry school in New York and previously worked for four jewelry stores in Bergen County, N.J. Hamilton Jewelers is a third-generation, family-owned business.
OBITUARIES
Indian gemstone writer Vidya Vinod Kala, 66, died July 21 after a long bout with cancer. He headed the publishing house Gem & Jewellery Information Centre and was instrumental in developing gem journalism in India and Asia. He was the founder and editor of the Journal of Gem Industry, Diamond World, and Gem & Jewellery Year Book. He was honored by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India for his service to the gem and jewelry industry in that country.
Charles Savastano, 94, a retired jeweler in Phoenix, Ariz., died Aug. 14.
Albert Lloyd Fodge, 83, of Birmingham, Ala., died Aug. 15. He was president of Vulcan Jewelry Co. Inc. and a World War II veteran.
S.L. Bell, Jr., 83, retired owner of Bill’s Jewelry Store in Memphis, Tenn., died Aug. 23.
Frank A. Dooling, 89, retired owner of Dooling Jewelers in St. Louis and Clayton, Mo., died May 27.
Harold F. Jennings, 80, chief executive officer of Frank L. Moose Jewelers in Roanoke, Va., died June 28. A U.S. Marine during World War II, he received the Silver Star for service in the invasion of Guadalcanal. He previously was owner/manager and president of Frank L. Moose Jewelers and became CEO in 1997.
Harry Kotlar, president of Harry Kotlar & Co. in Los Angeles, died May 2.
Pauline Cummings Livingston, 81, co-owner-operator of Livingston’s Jewelry Store in Memphis, Tenn., died June 28.