Jason Griffin and Gorjana Reidel spent 12 years charming major retailers such as Nordstrom Inc. and Bloomingdale’s with their delicate jewelry line when two years ago they took on a new challenge—real estate and branded stores.
The husband-and-wife duo behind jewelry label Gorjana opened their first store in downtown Laguna Beach, and its success over the past 19 months has pushed them to roll out a plan to add as many as seven new stores this year.
“We looked at Laguna, and as we opened the store we decided if we don’t want to be in retail, the worst-case scenario was we just have a brand experience where we’re based, but what we found was that we’re pretty good at it,” Jason said. “There’s a value in showcasing our brand experience and telling our brand story.”
Gorjana (pronounced “gor-yana”) will open a boutique this month at Westfield UTC in San Diego followed by a shop at Fashion Island next month, and a store at Irvine Spectrum Center in June. Another location is planned for Glendale’s Americana at Brand shopping center in the fall.
The private company has grown its business mainly through wholesale and e-commerce. It doesn’t disclose its financials, but said 2017 sales were more than $25 million.
Gorjana acknowledged that it picked an interesting time to boost its retail footprint, citing an industrywide slump impacting big-box retailers. Even its longtime partner Nordstrom has faced headwinds—negotiations to take the retail giant private fell apart last month. But unlike its more traditional competitors, Gorjana is adding a distribution channel it hopes will be a boon to its bottom line.
The biggest trend in the jewelry category has been the changing retail landscape, where traditional store-based retailers are losing business to internet retailers, according to a 2017 report by market research firm Euromonitor International.
Marshall Toplansky, clinical assistant professor of management science at Chapman University, said the key for Gorjana will be diversifying its selling channels.
“The question people are asking is ‘how much growth can I count on from these department store chains?’”
Toplansky said, “Everybody is looking at more or less a retail meltdown, so how do you grow?”
Coast to Coast
Jason and Gorjana said their strategy is not to compete with its wholesale partners but to give customers an immersive experience to learn about the brand and its message of “live love layer.”
Gorjana’s eponymous line was designed to reflect a luxury jewelry brand at an affordable price. Its collection of delicate earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings are meant to be layered. Prices range from $30 for mini stud earrings to $198 for a five-piece layering set.
Since opening its 1,100-square-foot Laguna Beach flagship store in 2016, the founders have opened three additional boutiques, including a second New York store, which opened last month.
They said they want to limit expansion efforts to California and New York. They split their time with their two young children between their homes in Laguna Beach and New York.
Each store has been designed to highlight Orange County’s relaxed, beachy vibe. Stores are accented with lots of white, light wood floors and splashes of indigo-colored fixtures that display its gold and silver jewelry.
The founders said it was also important to differentiate its stores from its wholesale retailers by offering exclusive merchandise and perks.
For example, each boutique has on-site custom engraving for its recently launched bespoke line that’s only available in branded shops and online. The store in Venice has an aura reading station to show a person’s energy field. The station pairs with the brand’s power gemstones collection. The line features colored stones, such as turquoise and garnet, that are meant to bring out attributes in the wearer, such as healing and energy.
“The stores are the next evolution of the brand,” Gorjana said. “We feel it helps all of our [selling] channels, and it’s really telling the story from the horse’s mouth.”
But Toplansky said that because of the retailer’s affordable price points it would need enough volume to cover its added operating costs.
“Having your own retail is not just the real estate cost but the labor cost,” he said. “It means they have to figure out how to manage those stores, the people and the marketing efforts in those stores. But my guess is they would not be going down this road unless they already know they would have enough volume and have the brand recognition to do it.”
Adding Layers
Jason said brand awareness among customers is key and that because Gorjana’s business was built on its wholesale and e-commerce website, selling at its boutique shops is easier.
“If someone [new] walks in our store, an associate can say we’ve been around for a while and work with major retailers,” he said. “That creates a sense of security. A customer can say they’ve discovered this brand but it’s a brand they can now trust.”
After the couple met at Arizona State University, they started the business in 2004 on their apartment floor, making jewelry by hand. They managed to secure distribution with 100 stores the first year after racking up nearly 50,000 miles across the U.S. to sell their wares door-to-door.
Gorjana’s now sold globally in about 750 stores. It has more than 600 products and a staff of more than 80.
Jason said the company’s sales are spread fairly evenly across retail, wholesale and e-commerce. It also built teams to help manage the company’s multiple selling channels. There’s staff dedicated to serving specialty stores, a separate sales staff for major retailers and department stores, and a team serving its owned retail operations.
He also credited the company’s growth to its willingness to evolve over the years without rushing new strategies, like the retail push.
“When your brand is getting larger, you’ve got more to protect,” he said. “This is a long-term thing, [and] now that we put in 14 years, we’re not going to get impatient.”
