Some luxury retailers throughout the region have been successful in targeting high-end shoppers for decades and keeping them coming back.
They include Van Scoy Diamond Mine, that has been in business for more than 70 years.
The family-owned business sells diamonds in all shapes and sizes and is known for its radio commercials.
Wayne Van Scoy, 56, owner and president of Van Scoy Diamond Mine on Mundy Street in Wilkes-Barre Twp., said he typically targets male shoppers to buy engagement rings.
“We have all price ranges for them,” he said.
Van Scoy started in the business when he was 12 years old and took it over in 1995.
He is the son of the late Tommy Van Scoy, who once owned 49 diamond jewelry stores throughout the East Coast but sold most of them and retired. The remaining stores are in Wilkes-Barre Twp., Lancaster and North Carolina.
Van Scoy said what brings shoppers into the Wilkes-Barre Twp. store is the “reputation we have, the service that we provide, the selection we provide and the price.”
While some mid-level department stores have been closing, Van Scoy said his luxury business is doing well because of service and price.
“People shop online and think they’re getting a great deal and they’re not really,” he said. “White gold should be polished and rhodium dipped and we do that, all at no charge. The ring gets cleaned, checked, polished and rhodium dipped and there is never a charge.”
Van Scoy expects luxury retailers like his business will reap benefits from tax reform with consumers having more money in their pockets and spending more.
He saw an increase in business last year and expects to continue to see a growth in sales, especially with an improving economy and the stock market hitting a record high earlier this year.
Boccardo sells
prestigious watches
Another luxury retailer in the region, Boccardo Jewelers in Scranton, is associated with some of the world’s most prestigious watch brands such as Breitling and TAG Heuer.
Alex Boccardo, third generation owner of the family business at 201 Jefferson Ave., said millennials have become interested in wearing prestigious watches like their grandfathers and fathers wore.
Boccardo Jewelers targets customers through its website and social media like Instagram and Facebook as well as billboards, he said.
The luxury retailer also sells diamond engagement rings, earrings, bracelets and other jewelry and offers repair services.
Boccardo said they keep customers coming back through their customer service and how they treat people.
“We’re a family-owned business and we treat customers like family,” he said.
His grandfather, Sandy Boccardo, started in the jewelry business in 1938.
He eventually opened a jewelry repair trade shop and, in the late 1960s, he opened his first retail jewelry store on Washington Avenue. After being joined by his two sons, James and Tony, the Boccardo family purchased a building on Spruce Street and stayed there until 2007.
In January 2008, the family purchased its free-standing present location and continues its tradition in its third generation.
Boccardo said he finds the economy is improving and luxury businesses like his family’s continue to do well because customers want to buy something they want, not just what they need.
In the future, he expects his business will benefit from tax reform since consumers have more money.
Matterns offers
exclusive brand gifts
Matterns in Kingston targets high-end shoppers through exclusive brand gifts, like Magnolia Home candles, that aren’t available other places, said owner Michelle Valentino.
“We are actually the only retailer in the area that is able to carry them so I think exclusivity plays a factor,” she said. “We find a brand that we know works and is of the highest quality and we will stick with that. We always try to carry something that’s different but also is a style that customers who have been coming for years will enjoy.”
Matterns, an upscale flower and gift shop, has been in business for 110 years.
Michelle and Nick Valentino of Lake Ariel recently purchased the shop at 447 Market St. in Kingston from third-generation owners Tom and Maria Mattern and expanded the business.
Matterns’ overall customer service and changing up the shop frequently are ways Valentino said they bring people in and keep them coming back.
“When you’re coming here, you’re getting an experience,” she said. “Not many places put things in pretty gift bags or wrap it up for you so that’s an added benefit of shopping here.”
Matterns has been able to hold its ground in the retail market by rebranding and working on offering an online retail site, Valentino said.
“We’ve been doing a lot more social media marketing,” she said. “We also have an open house once a year which I think is huge. It’s nice because of it’s more of a community gathering to bring people in. We get to develop personal relationships with people. They’re here having a good time, eating snacks and shopping.”
Heather Hospodar, floral manager at Matterns, said when people shop online, there is no personal service.
At Matterns, people could “actually come in and touch and feel and smell and
experience the senses,” she said.
“We have people who come in here just to be happy,” Valentino said. “They need a mood lifter. To boost their spirits, they will just come in and just walk around.”
Tax reform expected to increase demand for luxury goods
Local chamber officials also expect the demand for luxury goods will increase as people’s income rises thanks to tax reform.
Bob Durkin, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, said tax reform and an improving economy will benefit all retailers, including luxury retailers.
Since consumers have some extra money in their pockets, he expects the region will see an uptick in retail across the board.
People who might not have bought high-end jewelry, other luxury items or something a little different in the past may decide that now is the time to do it, he said.
“Personal spending has been way up,” Durkin said.
Wico Van Genderen, president and CEO of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, said luxury markets do well when the economy does well and people have more discretionary income to spend.
“Tax reform by its very nature means more discretionary spend by consumers who take that extra increase to purchase that luxury item,” Van Genderen said. “For businesses, it means taking that tax break to channeling it into investments, labor and shareholders, meaning more money cycled into the economy and ultimately into some of those life luxuries.”
While retail as a whole continues to move to online shoppers, Van Genderen said this is not necessarily the case with luxury brands where the shopping experience is as important as buying the product.
“The luxury purchase is as much in going to the brick and mortar luxury retailer for the service, the experience and the product,” he said.
Van Genderen added that the travel and tourism sector drives a large chunk of luxury purchases as consumers make luxury purchases when they travel, especially in airports, in stores catering specifically to high-end purchasers and in places associated with luxury.
“Luxury buying is more like an event where the buying experience is in the moment of the purchase as well as the purchase itself,” he said.
Locally, Van Generen said luxury buying is also an event whether it’s buying a high-end automobile or going to destination points like Jim Thorpe, Mohegan Sun Pocono, Montage or the Crossings that cater to that experience and the service along with the products.
Dr. Satyajit Ghosh, professor of economics and finance at the University of Scranton, also believes tax reform will help luxury retailers.
The tax cuts are structured in a way that they will benefit upper income people who typically shop at luxury retailers, he said.
“The outlook for the luxury retailers is pretty strong,” Ghosh said.
Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115, @CVAllabaugh