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Now That's Interesting!
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Fremeau Jewelers sells jewelry made of diamonds, precious colored gems, and metals like platinum and gold. There are no imitation gems in Fremeau's cases, and the pieces are classic in design. "We don't tend to go to the trendy styles," Wood explains. "The vast majority of what we sell was in style long ago and is still going to be in style 20 years from now."
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Mike Archambault, store manager, making jewelry. Archambault says his relationship with his boss and coworkers feels more like a family than a business.
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The store specializes in "better-made" pieces, which Wood says cost more but last longer. "Our main business is repeat customers," he points out, "and you can't have repeat customers unless you sell them things that will last." Wood says his merchandise ranges from $25-sterling silver pendants to $150,000-diamond rings."
The store no longer sells watches, however. Wood's father, who retired nine years ago but works in the store every Christmas, started out as a watchmaker. "Dad noticed that watches accounted for about 10 percent of sales and about 90 percent of customer complaints," Wood says, "because they have so many little moving parts. People would bring them in for repairs, and then they'd go bang them on something or get water in them and have to bring them back. Dad didn't appreciate customers telling him it was his fault. Also, you have to be talented to work on something that small, and the computer industry has hired all the watchmakers away."
The store also no longer sells china or crystal. "You have to stock all kinds of patterns," Wood explains. "They also take up a lot of space, and it's become a more casual lifestyle. People don't really use fine china and crystal that much anymore." What people still do, however, is graduate, get married and celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and holidays the main reasons customers purchase Fremeau Jewelers' sparkling merchandise.
These joyous occasions fuel the pleasure Wood takes in his work. "We deal with people in their happiest times," he says. "When people are excited, you can't help but sort of thrive off that. It's neat to see couples who've been married 25, 30 or 50 years come in here and act like kids buying an anniversary present. It's just an enjoyable way to spend your time."
Selling takes up part of Wood's time(there are 10 people on staff); the rest is spent paying bills and buying gems. He travels to trade shows up to five times a year, mostly in the United States. "That way," he notes, "if there are any problems, you can deal with them easily." Wood says he does not "sit on the bench" and make jewelry anymore. "That's not my forte," he admits. "I don't have the patience."
Mike Archambault does. As manager of the store, Archambault's time is divided between making jewelry the staff jointly designs (customers can custom-design pieces, as well) and selling on the floor. "I love my job," he says. "It's a vacation. The people I work with are great, and the clientele is top-notch." As for his boss, Archambault has no complaints. "We're not micro-managed here," he says. "Kent gives me the ball. I feel like I'm part of the family it's sort of like brothers. If we need to discuss something, we can do that."
Wood says he doesn't know how to describe his business style. "I do delegate a lot," he says, adding that Archambault, assistant manager Simon Woodrup and Jimmy Adams, a former manager who has been at the store for 27 years, have the authority to get the job done. "It's the people that work here that make it successful," Wood says. "I can't take credit, except maybe that I was smart enough to hire them."
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