Rarely do I have the opportunity to send a message twice within a month, but the time has come for us in the industry to make a stand. We can sit on our behinds and watch as more and more of our retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers close their businesses, leaving so many people scrambling for employment or we can take a stand and lead by example. I will try to start the “ball rolling” by making an effort to offer assistance to my fellow jewelers. This, in turn, will also help to stimulate additional work at Innovative CAD Technologies.
There is a give and take relationship between us and many within the jewelry industry have forgotten the value and importance of this bond. The economy has driven us to collectively make the necessary changes to survive. However, many in our association have looked toward the wrong solution for resolution. It is natural and obvious that staff reductions and cutting overhead is of prime concern, but a major percentage of jewelers have gone to overseas merchandising for their apparent relief. I think this is counter intuitive to finding a cure for the ailment. This type of thinking, in my humble opinion, puts one in direct competition with mass marketing, television shopping networks and others, who spotlight pricing as a substitute for quality and real value. This continued trend will only lead to more and more job loss and possibly a loss of consumer confidence in those stores outsourcing to Asia for goods and services.
The situations we jointly face today are very daunting. There are clients who are willing and able to spend their money on jewelry, but will remain very cautious and particular. It is for these reasons that Innovative CAD Technologies has stressed the importance of custom design as an avenue to increase profit and clientele loyalty. Many of our customers have seen the light and I am amazed at the amount of work they send us for design and casting.
We created CAPS (Creative Alliances Promoting Success) for this reason: To stimulate the sales departments within stores in order to reap the benefits of working with custom design. The CAPS program is still in its infancy but today, I would like to announce the first installment of our desire to help your business get aboard the program and begin to see the distinct advantages of working together as an alliance, or as a virtual partnership between entities.
For all those who have responded to our early description of the CAPS program and to those who would like the opportunity to forge a stronger inter-company relationship by signing on, we are announcing a special offer.
New Clients:
Existing Clients: