F5B09F64-1185-47F3-ABBF-E937CC186939.png - CASE 2.3 -...

Unformatted text preview:CASE 2.3 - Marketing Webst... WEBSTER'S (1995 — 2005) Shortly after his arrival Willy instituted some changes in the business. In addition to providing their customers with high quality, unique jewellery, Willy, true to his roots in academia, wanted Webster's to educate their customers and the general public about diamonds and gemstones. To ensure that his employees could become effective educators, Willy required each employee to become certified gemologists. At this time the science of gemology was in its infancy. Gemologists study gemstones, learn about identification, evaluation, production, fabrication, marking and overall sales of gemstones. This certification ensured that the employees had exceptional knowledge of their products in order to educate Webster's customers about their merchandise. To long— time employees (whose average was 62) who resisted this change, Willy offered early retirement incentives in order to create new positions for the new employees willing to train as gemologists. Most of the new employees were recent university graduates, who worked in the retail store while studying for their gemology certificate through correspondence. Webster's (2005 to 2015) In the late 2000's a newly expanded Station Mall opened in the downtown area, and numerous stores moved from the downtown shopping area into the newly expanded mall. Willy purchased the vacant building next store and Webster's became a grandiose store with an exquisite storefront. With the absence of street front stores and the lack of anchor stores at each end of Queen St. downtown led to a dramatic economic decline of the downtown area that lasted over a decade. In 1995 Webster's property was worth an estimated $1.2 mfllion, but by 2010 the property was worth only an estimated $400,000. Despite the economic downturn, Webster's survived, and Willy attributed the store's endurance to several factors. Primarily Webster's enjoyed a fine reputation in the community for producing exquisite quality jewellery. Webster's specialised in Lazare diamonds and imported their inventory from Europe (e.g. Faberge) so that their product lines were unique. Webster's was also the proud owners of a set of Master Stones that were used to educate customers about the colour grading of diamonds. This complete set of diamonds earned the business exceptional credibility in the world of jewellers. Additionally, Willy's insistence on employee certification resulted in customers receiving outstanding service from extremely knowledgeable sales staff. In addition, Webster's had a widespread reputation for designing and creating unique exquisite custom jewellery for their customers. Two goldsmiths in Sault Ste Marie and two in Sudbury were employed by the company to design and create custom jewellery. One of these designers was the internationally renowned master craftsman Charles C. Ermatinger, a Swiss designer in Sudbury, whose finiWfly exceeded the