Independents
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Harry Glinberg plays jeweler to sports stars
By Emma Johnson
October 21, 2008
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| Harry Glinberg with one of his celebrity sports clients, Mo Williams of the Milwaukee Bucks. |
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Wauwatosa, Wisc.--To borrow from sports lingo, it's a Cinderella story. Ride up to the third floor of a Wells Fargo building in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Wisc., and find Harry Glinberg Jewelers, which quietly serves some of the nation's top professional athletes.
Harry Glinberg bought the business for a mere $25,000 from his former boss, who was grossing $850,000 a year when he retired in 1998. Today, the business grosses more than $4 million a year, thriving on personal relationships, value and good-old-fashioned integrity, says Glinberg, a Gemological Institute of America graduate. Selling at a tight margin to even the most flush stars of basketball, football and baseball helps win them over.
"Even though these guys are loaded, they still want a good deal," Glinberg says. "They weren't always loaded. Even though I could charge them more sometimes, I don't."
Plus, he finds that the players tend to be nice guys and reasonable customers.
"They're not going be obnoxious working with me," Glinberg says. "If they act like a jerk, they're going to get charged like a jerk."
But before Glinberg could generalize about some of the hottest names in pro sports, including Shaquille O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, Marquis Daniels of the Indiana Pacers, Mo Williams of the Milwaukee Bucks and Randy Starks of the Miami Dolphins, he started small and local.
The jeweler would attend Milwaukee Bucks games and sit in the first row where he would chat up injured players and pass out his card. But his first big break came when a customer who is a pastor at a local mega-church referred Glinberg to a member of his congregation--Bucks player and jewelry aficionado Armen Gilliam.
Glinberg flew to Gilliam's Detroit home to sell him an engagement and wedding ring set, leaving home at 5:00 p.m. and returning at 11:00 p.m. with a $30,000 sale. Next, he hit the bench to set the pieces so they could be shipped to the player for the next morning.
That sale led to referrals within the NBA, and that word-of-mouth multiplied as players were traded. Today, Glinberg counts 50 NBA players as customers, and he says that about 40 percent of his gross comes from athletes. Many of these big deals occur when Glinberg travels to appointments set up in the hotel rooms of players, who then invite teammates to join the impromptu trunk shows. Traveling with upwards of $2 million in merchandise is risky business, so Glinberg takes along an off-duty, gun-packing sheriff when doing business in Milwaukee, and he remains very discreet when traveling out of state.
When players are in Milwaukee, Glinberg often sends a limo to transport them to his store, where he stocks at least $3 million in inventory, including several showy watches and necklaces that might appeal to athletes accustomed to the spotlight.
"I don't believe in selling from a catalog," the jeweler says of his selection.
Glinberg says he hasn't done much marketing over the years, but occasionally his star athlete customers will mention his company on ESPN or do free local promos.
More subtle plugs occur when Glinberg invites a non-athlete customer to a local game. After they enter through a back door, players greet Glinberg with high-fives.
And everyday customers in the small Midwestern city get a kick out of seeing big-name players browsing in the store, Glinberg says.
"I haven't really changed this business since buying it 10 years ago," he says. "I continue to give great customer service, be 100 percent honest and give good value. I make sure the point of sale is not the end of the relationship."
TIPS for creating an insider vibe
--"It can't be said enough: This business is all about reputation and relationships," says Harry Glinberg, owner of Harry Glinberg Jewelers.
--Even if customers can afford a big margin, it doesn't mean you should charge it. Everyone likes getting a good deal, Glinberg says.
--Referrals such as a mention on the Web site of a major hospital system in the local community, and discount cards to local police, fire and sheriff departments go a long way, making people feel like they're getting an inside deal.
Editor's note: This story first appeared in the August 2008 print edition of National Jeweler.
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