Watchmaking in the Jewelry Department
The story of Sears, Roebuck & Co., is the story of a watch, because the nucleus of this great organization was a simple little time-piece which first interested Mr. Sears in merchandising, and finally led him into the mail order business. From the very beginning our jewelry department has been one of the largest in the institution and it has been one of the most popular with our millions of customers. It has been our policy to bring any of the luxuries of life within the reach of those in modest circumstances, and our efforts in this direction have been signally successful in all those lines commonly found in a jewelry store. We have undoubtedly been responsible for a wonderful change in method in the jewelry business, we have compelled manufacturers and dealers generally to modify their selling plans, so that today it is possible for mep. and women to secure watches and rings and other articles of this character at a lower price than ever before. We have been selling everything in the jewelry line at a reasonable price, a price carrying but a small margin of profit. All those lines, of merchandise which represent articles not actually needed by the average individual have always paid large profits to business men selling them, and probably no one line has yielded the profits which have come from the selling of jewelry. We have placed jewelry on the same plane with necessities, offering watches, rings and diamonds, silverware and all these allied lines at the mere cost of material and labor, with the same uniform margin of profit added that we add in departments which sell necessities. This policy has made this the largest jewelry store in the world. The stereoscopic view herewith gives you a view of one corner of this department showing a score or more of watchmakers at work Thousands of our customers who purchase jewelry from us prefer to have us handle their repair work when any is necessary, and as a result we find that we have to maintain a large repair department for their accommodation.
Sears 1908 Fall Catalog
Watches Spread, Pages 264-265
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