{"id":4600,"date":"2018-01-01T15:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-01-01T09:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gjepc.org\/solitaire\/?p=4600"},"modified":"2021-06-09T11:21:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T05:51:57","slug":"move-over-millennials-hello-centennials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gjepc.org\/solitaire\/move-over-millennials-hello-centennials\/","title":{"rendered":"MOVE OVER, MILLENNIALS. HELLO, CENTENNIALS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A small, but growing group of US jewellery retailers are starting to target Generation Z\u2014also known as Centennials. These 69 million high-school-age and younger kids will soon outnumber the Millennials. And, they are creating significant retail impact by buying products now. Savvy independent retailers, jewellery designers and brands are catering to this critical group. And it\u2019s working.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By Dan Scott, Brand Architect<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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Wall Street, marketers, and advertising gurus for companies ranging from Macy\u2019s to Charles Schwab are talking to investors about a major new-found demographic: a very young audience that is shocking many, but providing a profitable revenue stream for those that are taking action rather than pondering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boardrooms across America are abuzz about current and long-term plans to appeal to the post-millennial generation, a dynamic group that Pew Research announced \u201cwill populate 40% of the US workforce by 2020 and surpass the 75.4 million millennials and 74.9 million baby boomers.\u201d This group is here right now, and they are shopping\u2026 at least where they are welcomed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are just kids. What kind of buying power and influence do they really have?\u201d Peter Tuz, portfolio manager of the $84 million Chase Growth Fund, muttered to himself. That was over a year ago when the Wall Street Journal called for a quote on \u201cthe newest and most powerful demographic to hit retail yet.\u201d After significant Chase research, Tuz concluded, \u201cRetailers of today should pay attention now, or they won\u2019t be retailers tomorrow. These kids mean business. Literally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome the Centennials\u2014the youngest, smartest and most noteworthy individual shoppers of our day. They buy items priced to their handmade wallets, when they want it, and they know how to influence those who buy for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the term screen-agers is clever, it does not accurately depict that these children are looking far beyond their phones and laptops. Having been born into a world of technology allows them to learn faster and become less trusting of anything that isn\u2019t digital. But, this doesn\u2019t mean that they don\u2019t respond to what we responded to as children; it means that the products we grew up with are changing in response to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take LEGO, for example. Did you know that LEGO makes a kid\u2019s watch? If you are thinking traditional marketing, then placing a $25 plastic watch (the opening price that scales to over $160 in the \u201cadults boxed set\u201d) in a fine jewellery store is probably not a consideration. But that is wrong thinking!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take it from Mark Motes, of renowned Smyth Jewelers based in Baltimore, Maryland. He welcomes Centennials through the store\u2019s LEGO watch and clock line. \u201cSmyth likes to stay on the leading edge by embracing new market segments and catering to them with appropriate product. The LEGO children\u2019s watches, clocks and LEGO \u2018watch system\u2019 give us a point of difference, while appealing to the important growth segment of Gen Z. This is a very important group. They are much too young for engagement rings, but far too old for anything with the word \u2018baby\u2019 next to it,\u201d Motes explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cProducts like LEGO watches are a new bridge in relationships with the newest and youngest influencer (and shopper) within jewellery retailing today. Smyth Jewelers would be remiss in not offering this new buying segment what they want,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is LEGO such a great example of a niche product for Centennials? When The LEGO Movie grossed nearly $258 million domestically in 2014, it drew in much more than children. In fact, the movie was produced for both adults and children. Unlike other \u201cadult cartoons\u201d in theatres, The LEGO Movie wasn\u2019t peppered with profane language or sexual overtones. The fact that no one even missed the language or overtones is a record breaker itself. The next LEGO movie numbers are projected to exceed the last, with a sequel due for release in May 2018 after the debut of The LEGO Batman Movie in February 2017. Centennials will be the first in line with their allowance money\u2014folded twenties earned by cutting lawns, or a crisp $100 note recently received as a birthday, graduation or holiday gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gone are the days when children\u2019s jewellery is left to \u201csell itself,\u201d positioned next to sterling-silver baby rattles, picture frames or even dropped-in at cash-wrap next to close-outs or impulse items. Today\u2019s successful retailers welcome Centennials with customisable, introductory priced items highlighting personalisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is why LEGO watches are selling so well,\u201d says Peter Wish, co-founder of PSE Group LLC, the exclusive distributor for the licensed LEGO watches and clocks. \u201cThese products spark influencer and shopper engagement and are getting larger and premier showcase space. We\u2019re seeing retailers create weekend events, separate departments or even entirely new stores catering to Centennial experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wish is right on. Look at the Wynn Las Vegas, an obvious luxury property in Las Vegas. It recently opened a store devoted to Centennials called \u201cTiny Treasures.\u201d Products include LEGO watches among its assortment of gift products and toys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Goldsmith at Chestnut Hill, housed in an affluent Massachusetts Mall, isn\u2019t a place you would expect to find LEGO. Yet, Debbe Driscoll, store manager, says \u201cWe can\u2019t keep LEGO watches in stock. We placed them in kiosks in the mall, once by the Apple store, and it drives Gen Z-er\u2019s right to our door. Recently, two teenage boys came in and we ended up selling them watch batteries, but more importantly, gaining their trust. They will be back to buy since they felt welcome.\u201d So, how many watch batteries or niche watches can you sell to turn a profit? If you are asking yourself that question, you\u2019re simply not getting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not about selling Centennials a diamond ring. Not yet, anyway. Welcoming them and gaining their trust in your store will bring their brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents in to purchase other things. These are the heavy buyers who follow their Gen Z children into stores and encourage them to shop. It won\u2019t be the store owner or staff member who eyes the panic button when teenagers linger outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019s my favourite example. Bove Jewelers is located in Kennett Square, one of the highest household income areas in the Northeast. Started in 1929, the store doesn\u2019t seem to have changed much over the years. But wait, take a look through the windows and walk inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs parents of four very young girls, we are constantly asked if Bove offers jewellery for children,\u201d says Bob Strehlau, a former Bove executive and now owner. \u201cWhen we bought the store we realised that we should corner the youth market, not by simply selling trendy earrings and necklaces, but by offering communion pendants, tie tacks and LEGO watches. Those items gave birth to Bove\u2019s Kids,\u201d Strehlau adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed to invite and entice, the Bove\u2019s Kids room is customised for children. Shelves are lower, an adorable footstool offers even the tiniest of tots the ability to step up and see what they couldn\u2019t reach otherwise. There is even a sign on the glass that says \u201cPlease Touch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs kids, we were told not to touch certain things, out of fear of breaking them,\u201d Strehlau continues. \u201cAt Bove, we created an environment and traffic flow that showcases beautiful, leading brands within luxury jewellery, diamonds and watches, but without a \u2018stuffy\u2019 feel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not only do families feel their children are welcome at the store, but their children also feel welcome. With future in-store events such as #BeU, a social media interactive day letting kids be kids, Bove gets it. Or, as Centennial marketers like to call it, they practise \u201cYouth Personalisation.\u201d That is today\u2019s buzzword term for this type of shopping experience, where products transform to the user, at lower price points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an old proven marketing platform that works well for Mercedes Benz, for example. Offering the C-Series to young America lets them grow with the brand, eventually moving into higher-level models. Mercedes was recently pitched an ad campaign depicting a seven-yearold boy in a suit and tie at the wheel with his nine-year-old sister in the passenger seat. From the back seat, fidgeting parents complain \u201cAre we there yet?\u201d Sources say Mercedes adores the concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking a page out of high-level bankers\u2019 and investors\u2019 playbooks also tends to pay off. \u201cThis is like someone in America who invested in China in the early 1990s. There\u2019s a huge opportunity here for companies that are willing to take some risk and bet on the future,\u201d says Gregg Fischer, portfolio manager of the Gerstein Fisher Multi-Factor Growth Equity Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortune 500 companies have featured Centennials as a main topic in their earnings calls. Since January 2016, according to a Reuters analysis of transcripts, this demographic segment has had more repeated mentions by all major companies reviewed than any other in the last six years combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Campbell Soup company cited Centennials as one of their reasons for transparency in labelling of foods containing genetically-modified organisms (GMO). The brand recently announced its \u201csupport for mandatory national labelling of products that may contain GMO and proposed that the federal government provide a national standard for non-GMO claims made on food packaging,\u201d noting that all consumers want to feel good about the choices they make, for themselves and their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Charles Schwab stated recently that its financial advisers would transition more to becoming \u201clife coaches\u201d rather than making specific investment decisions, as technology-trusting Centennials come of age. The company recognises that this demographic places more faith in computers than humans when banking and investing. This should be a wake-up call for all industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In conclusion, don\u2019t let being comfortable keep you from moving forward. Comfortable isn\u2019t working anymore. Step outside your comfort zone. Go to the movies that children are lining up to see. Smile at the teenager who is hesitant about walking into your store. Allow the fifteenyear-old girl to try on designer engagement rings and take a few selfies. Let your ideas change with the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As my mentor Scott Kay once told me, \u201cYou can choose to harbour in the past, or you can choose to prosper in the future.\u201d I quote him because I remember a collection he was working on intensely just before his untimely passing. It was a children\u2019s sterling line. Designs included Centennials tightly embracing plush bears in a collection he named \u201cIt\u2019s Mine.\u201d Perhaps he was sending a hidden message. Take what is yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embrace it. Own it. The trust that your independent store generates with the youth of today by far outweighs that of the big box stores, as studies have shown over and over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope this article inspires you to take action and get ahead in today\u2019s complicated yet captivating youthful marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dan Scott may be reached at dans@luxelicensing.com or 201.294.3697 (www.danscott.com)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A small, but growing group of US jewellery retailers are starting to target Generation Z\u2014also known as Centennials. These 69 million high-school-age and younger kids will soon outnumber the Millennials. And, they are creating significant retail impact by buying products now. Savvy independent retailers, jewellery designers and brands are catering to this critical group. And…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,91,112,79],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-4600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-demand-mapping","category-events","category-international","category-viewpoint"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMOVE OVER, MILLENNIALS. 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