Market Developments
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Rainy-day plan helped Hall of Fame's Jon Bridge
By Michelle Graff
January 13, 2010
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| It's good to keep the business in the family, Jon Bridge (far right) says, as long as family members understand the business. His nephew, Marc Bridge, and daughter, Rebecca Bridge, are also part of the Ben Bridge Jeweler team. |
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Seattle--Jon Bridge is a charitable man who is no stranger to receiving accolades for the work he does helping Seattle's less fortunate.
From the United Way to the Urban League, there is no end to the way this businessman endeavors to enrich the lives of those around him.
"That's what makes life worthwhile: doing positive things to change people's lives for the better," he says.
But as vice president and general counsel at 75-store, Seattle-based chain Ben Bridge Jeweler, Bridge isn't used to receiving recognition for his contributions to jewelry retailing.
That is, until now: Bridge is a 2010 inductee into National Jeweler's Retailer Hall of Fame in the majors category, an honor bestowed upon high-volume jewelers who have made significant contributions to the industry and inspired other retailers along the way.
"To be recognized by my peers within my work organization is a really neat thing," Bridge says.
Ben Bridge Jeweler got its start in 1912 when watchmaker Samuel Silverman opened a store in downtown Seattle. In 1922, a man named Ben Bridge married Silverman's daughter, Sally, and joined the business. Five years later, Silverman moved to California, Bridge purchased his interest in the business and Ben Bridge Jeweler was born.
Today, Jon Bridge runs the business alongside his cousin, Ed Bridge, and their respective fathers, Herb and Bob Bridge, who each serve as co-chairmen of the company.
On top of that, Jon's daughter, Rebecca, and Ed's children, Lisa and Marc, have also opted for careers at the family jewelry store.
Feel like you need to stop and sketch an organizational chart or family tree to keep up? Let Bridge break it down for you.
"Essentially," he says, "Ed and I form the fourth generation in the business."
It's still a family affair at Ben Bridge Jeweler, which turns 98 this year. While this may sound appealing to jewelers who wish their offspring wanted to stay in the family business, Bridge allows that it's a blessing that can turn into a curse for those who are not careful.
Many family businesses fail because they keep Aunt Linda behind the counter even though she has zero selling skills.
"It works two ways," Bridge says. "We've always had the foundation, the business is there, but if you're not capable of running the business, you're not going to be part of it. We're not going to support you because your name is Bridge."
It's a point well taken in an industry where family-run operations are still the norm, but it doesn't fully explain how Ben Bridge Jeweler weathered the economic storm of 2009.
The year saw a number of jewelers suffer, including similarly sized Bailey Banks and Biddle, which was forced to liquidate its dozens of stores after parent Finlay Enterprises filed for bankruptcy.
Bridge has guided the company through all kinds of economic waters since coming on board in 1990 following a nine-year stint in the U.S. Navy, where he served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps.
The key to the jewelry chain's survival, according to Bridge, isn't anything in particular that the company did, but rather what it did not do in years past. Bridge says the company didn't overextend itself when times were good.
"It's just like a squirrel puts away chestnuts for the winter," he says. "You bank a lot of good times so you can get through the hard times. But you have to have banked enough of that capital and not leveraged yourself so thin that you collapse during the time that there is a little bit of famine."
Also aiding the chain is the fact that in 2000, it became part of Berkshire Hathaway, the company owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, a man Bridge describes as "America's heartland with an incredible brain."
That intelligence includes a grasp of the jewelry business.
"He's very understanding and sees what's out there in the area of fine jewelry," Bridge says. "He has been very tolerant of us. He has not changed one thing in the way we operated the business."
After nearly 100 years in business, and with the next generation already in place, it's likely Buffett feels that the script at Ben Bridge Jeweler doesn't need too many rewrites.
It's probably one of Buffett's better gambles and one the Bridge management team won't make him regret.
Looking ahead, Bridge says, the chain is proceeding cautiously as the economy improves.
"We're not dashing to open stores right now," he says.
Ben Bridge Jeweler closed a net of five stores over the last year and a half. Currently, the company's 75 locations are spread out among 12 states, mostly Western states, plus Texas and Minnesota.
"We're very cautious about the direction we take," Bridge says. "We want to make sure we don't upset the direction the company's always been taking."
Bridge's recession-beating tips:
- All in the family isn't always good. Don't keep people in positions they are not qualified for just because they are related to you.
- Save. Always put money away when times are good so when business slows down, you have some reserve funds upon which you can rely.
- Make sure your stores are welcoming. Keep them neat, and greet customers with coffee and a smile.
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