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Helping Mother Earth
At The Kingswood Company, we celebrate Earth Day every day. We are very proud of our sustainability efforts, from producing all non-toxic and biodegradable products to reducing the amount of plastic we use in our jars, among others. But in honor of Earth Day, we wanted to share yet another earth-friendly product we offer.
Our cream-colored polishing cloths are as green as they are cream. While most fabrics are bleached and then dyed, our cream-colored fabric is untreated, natural cotton. The natural color is beautiful, and we embrace the natural fiber flecks that are not present in bleached fabrics. In addition, the fabric for our all of our polishing cloths (no matter what color) is made of 100 percent cotton, and is milled in the United States rather than being sent from overseas. This reduces the use of fuel for shipping.
So as you polish your favorite jewelry to a beautiful shine, you can pat yourself on the back for being kind to Mother Earth.
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2011 Marks Significant Growth
We were excited this week to distribute this press release regarding our growth in 2011. We are so grateful to all of our customers, old and new!
The Kingswood Company Announces Significant Growth in 2011
The Kingswood Company, the industry’s leading supplier of private-label fine jewelry care products, reported in January significant growth during 2011, with the addition of more than 130 new accounts. The company asserts that such growth reflects its focus on customized product offerings and superior customer service. Kingswood saw expansion in the United States, Canada and Asia.
“The economic realities of today require that we focus even more closely on our customers,” explained Kristie Nicolosi, President & CEO of The Kingswood Company. “We have sought to distinguish ourselves from our competitors with a wide range of customizable products offered by a staff unparalleled in the business. Clearly that approach is working.”
Building on a successful 2011, Kingswood plans to announce new product offerings in 2012 that will further differentiate the company from its rivals. Each new product offering expands the wide array of options available to customers, which allow them to design their own packaging using a variety of artwork, cleaning formulas, polishing cloths, container sizes and colors.
Headquartered in Columbus, OH since 1956, The Kingswood Company is a member of the American Gem Society, the American Chemical Society and the Private Label Manufacturers Association and is certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.
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Imitation Jewelry Cleaner: A Dangerous Drug
While we usually write fun stories about beautiful, sparkling jewelry, now we have a darker story to share. In recent months, we have seen numerous news reports from around the country about synthetic drugs which mimic the effects of cocaine being sold as “jewelry cleaners.” These drugs were previously marketed as “bath salts,” but states began passing laws banning “bath salts” in an effort to combat the drug problem. In fact, “bath salts” were banned in Ohio in October of 2011.
Unfortunately, in most areas where “bath salts” are banned, drug-makers have just continued production of the product but changed the name to “jewelry cleaner.” In this way, they are staying a step ahead of the law. These drugs are especially dangerous, because they can be purchased at legal retailers and have been linked to deaths in Ohio and elsewhere.
You may be wondering how we know these products are not actually jewelry cleaner. To start with, this “jewelry cleaner” is priced at around $50 per ounce. We at The Kingswood Company sell the highest quality jewelry cleaners on the market, and they do not retail at anywhere near that price point. In addition, the imitation products are sold in a solid form like bath salts rather than a liquid.
This is a terrible masquerade of a common consumer product. And a dangerous one. We are confident that law enforcement will catch up with the criminals again, but in the meantime, we hope you will help spread the word about this dangerous phenomenon.
If you are interested in learning more, you can check out this story from the CBS affiliate in Harrisburg, PA: http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Synthetic-drugs-sold-as-various-substances-as/9VgSGB-u6k6IJNExR3hJZw.cspx.
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They Live to Deliver
The art and science of shipping is a mystery to most of us. You wrap up a package, call or drop by the shipper, and poof, it is off. Most of the time, it reaches its destination, and you never have to think or worry about it. But when you think (or worry) about it, the fact that most what we ship gets where it’s going is pretty amazing.
We at The Kingswood Company ship stuff - A LOT OF STUFF. Our shipper is integral to what we do, so when FedEx offered us a tour of their facility, we jumped at the chance to see the process in action! About half of all the boxes we ship and about 95 percent of all our shipments are shipped via FedEx. As a team, we were thrilled to learn about how our product is handled once it leaves our dock.
We got to watch “the sort” from way up on high, which was fascinating; this terminal processes 15,000 packages per shift during regular business and up to 30,000 packages during the holidays. We also got to see a truck loaded with some of our product. Some of our boxes were upside down (yikes, it’s full of liquids!), but that was an opportunity to talk with the Terminal Manager about the importance of keeping our boxes upright.
We know that is not usually a problem for FedEx, because very, very few of our boxes come back to us with damage or leaking. This is helped by the very sophisticated packaging we have developed to help prevent leaking. In addition, 99.8 percent of our boxes are delivered on time – an impressive statistic that helps us meet our very high customer service standards.
Thanks to the folks at FedEx for taking the time to show us around. It was an experience we won’t soon forget.
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Make It Easy!
Dentists really have it figured out. When you go in for your twice yearly check up, they clean the heck out of your teeth and send you on your way with instructions on how to keep them clean and healthy until your next visit. Out you walk, baggie in hand, with a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss, plus instructions to brush and floss twice a day. Easy peasy.
We know from a survey we conducted that as many as 82 percent of women are not wearing a piece of jewelry because it needs to be cleaned. If their jeweler could make jewelry care as easy as tooth care, that statistic would be much lower. But when customers buy a new piece of jewelry or take a piece in for an annual inspection, they may not be getting such easy instructions. Many customers walk out admiring a beautiful, sparkling piece, lamenting that it won’t look that good again until it gets another professional cleaning.
Jewelers might take a cue from dentists to make it easy on the customer. What’s not easy?
- Don’t offer vague instructions like “put a few drops of ammonia in water.” The customer is thinking, “What? I don’t have ammonia. I could get ammonia, but how much water do I need? Do I use hot or cold water? How many is a few drops?” Easy doesn’t require a degree in science.
- Don’t recommend a product that is made with harsh chemicals. Easy doesn’t require wearing gloves.
- Don’t require customers to come back in as the only recommendation for routine cleaning. That’s not easy, because they have to make time, get in their car and come in. Easy doesn’t require a car trip.
- Don’t suggest they clean their jewelry in boiling water. Easy doesn’t require pots, pans and time waiting for that watched pot to boil.
What is easy?
- Do have information on your website to educate your customers on how to clean their jewelry. It’s easy when she doesn’t have to leave her desk.
- Do offer a variety of cleaning formularies. You can help your customer find the safest way to clean every piece of jewelry from single stones to mixed metals. It’s easy when she can get the right information and product right from her jeweler.
- Do offer a professionally printed cleaning instructions that can be given to your customer at time of purchase. It’s easy when she has the information right at her fingertips.
- Do offer your customers an annual inspection and periodic cleaning in your store. It’s easy when she knows that her jewelry has been inspected and cleaned by a professional each year – no loose stones to worry about!
Sometimes when you are an expert, you forget what it is like to be a novice. Dentists get this concept. They recognize that their patients didn’t attend dental school and they don’t expect them to be dentists. Your customers aren’t educated in gemology, and they don’t want to be. They just want to keep their jewelry looking beautiful.
Just like the dentist with her clever bag of cleaning tools, jewelry store customers can also leave with the correct tools and information to keep their purchases sparkling.
If you just…make it easy!
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A Sparkling Not Spooky Halloween
We at The Kingswood Company have always known that we have the best customers! Want some proof? An employee of The Gem Gallery went all out for Halloween, dressing up as… a jar of jewelry cleaner (private label, of course)! Thanks to The Gem Gallery for sharing the photo evidence. We are sure she must have won a “most creative costume” award somewhere. Happy Halloween to one and all; make it sparkle!
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MORPC Award Winners!
Last week, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission held their annual Summit on Sustainability and the Environment, an event that explores and celebrates efforts to “go green.” We at The Kingswood Company were proud to be nominated for a MORPC Sustainability Award in the Materials Management Category. Our efforts to improve environmental sustainability are an important part of who we are, and we will continue to do all that we can to minimize our impact on the environment.
Congratulations to The Kroger Company, Columbus Division, for receiving The Materials Management Award. They are to be commended for their outstanding efforts to reduce waste with their Kroger Compost/Recycling Program. We also extend congratulations to the winners in the other categories, including: Local Matters; Anheuser-Busch; the City of Westerville, Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative, The Ohio State University; and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Smart Growth Overlay.
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Answer the Question!
We conducted a survey among consumers which yielded some interesting nuggets of information. But two statistics really jumped out and got us thinking.
- Eighty-two percent of respondents told us that they are not wearing some of their jewelry because it needs to be cleaned.
- Sixteen percent of respondents stated that they were not given instructions on how to clean their jewelry by their jeweler.
Hmmm…
We’re sure that many times customers aren’t asking their jeweler how to clean their purchase. It looks so beautiful and shiny in the store, cleaning may be the last thing they are thinking about. But sometimes they do ask, “How do I clean this?” What answer are they getting?
If the answer they receive involves bringing the piece back to the jeweler for cleaning, then they aren’t getting the answer they need. Of course, jewelers must educate their customer on the importance of annual inspections, at which time the piece will, indeed, be cleaned. And most jewelers are sure to share that they are happy to clean a piece if the customer drops in.
But that is not the question the customer is asking.
The customer is asking how she, herself, can clean her jewelry. When a jeweler gives her an answer to that question, his/her customer will be wearing the piece much more frequently. She will enjoy watching it sparkle on her finger, neck or earlobe, and she will be a happier client. She might even tell her friends who her jeweler is, when she’s asked where she found such a beautiful ring, necklace or pair of earrings.
When jewelers work on increasing the 16 percent statistic, the 82 percent statistic will fall, fall, fall. And their customers will fall, fall, fall in love with their jewelry all over again.
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