of family ownership certainly adds flavour
to this labour and helps a job become a
vocation.
The jewellery store environment also aids
this passion. The industry is an exciting
one to be in — it is constantly changing.
Novel designs and new materials emerge
all the time alongside discoveries of new
gemstones, which often send dealers and
fashion-conscious consumers into the
store to view the newest the industry has
to offer.
“There’s such an exciting newness to our
industry. We’re a really unique industry.
We supply for the most part celebration of
happy times. People don’t buy our kinds of
goods when they’re sad,” Anderson joked.
Location is also key to success. Downtown
Calgary is bordered on one side by the rail-
way and the other side by the river, making
its downtown core rather enclosed and J.
Vair sits comfortably in this compact urban
environment. The downtown core, bus-
tling with people, is a superlative location
to conduct business. Calgary also houses
one of Canada’s busiest international air-
ports, thus serving as a hub for an influx of
people, which is something else that helps
business thrive.
Catering to the customer is what J. Vair
does best and it does so by careful obser-
vation of trends. For instance, based on
the preferences of his clients, Anderson
has noted a drop in yellow gold purchases
during the past 20 years. Instead, a predi-
lection towards “white” jewellery, specifi-
cally platinum and white gold, is seen.
“They don’t want their mother’s jewel-
lery. They want something contemporary,
something modern,” Anderson said.
SELLING LUXURY GOODS IN
CHALLENGING TIMES
Anderson was born into the industry of
glittering gems and extravagant watches.
As a third generation owner, who at one
“If it was easy, there would be more
people doing it.”
Ken Anderson, President/Owner
APRIL 2016
H
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