August 4, 2026 • 40 mins
We sit down with Steven Lerche, President of Goldstar and the Plumb Club, to unpack how a supplier-led group builds real connection across the jewelry and watch supply chain. We talk JCK, innovation, responsible sourcing, and why a shared mindset can beat a zero-sum approach in a fast-changing market.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_03 (00:01):
Welcome back everybody to In the Loop.
What is up everybody?
My name is Michael Burpo.
Thanks again for listening to Inthe Loop.
This week I'm joined by StevenLurch.
He's president of Gold Star andhe's also the president of the
Pump Club.
The Pump Club is this kind ofconglomeration of jewelry
(00:21):
vendors that make their bigappearance every year at JCK.
They have this big purple carpetthat I'm obsessed with.
But they also work year-roundbehind the scenes on some
special interests, like lobbyingagainst terrorists, and also
doing some uh research projectsabout jewelry.
And Steven is the new presidentand also youngest president in
(00:42):
quote unquote history, and he isfantastic on the mic.
I find speaking with him isreally inspiring.
And uh, as a next generation youknow business leader, I find it
uh very encouraging to know thatuh someone like him is leading
an important group in thejewelry industry.
I hope you enjoy ourconversation.
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And now back to the show.
SPEAKER_03 (02:18):
So excited to have you on uh the plum club.
Uh, I really have alwaysappreciated all of the members.
Every time I think I'veinterviewed maybe seven or eight
different members at this point,and uh now getting a chance to
interview the new president.
A real honor.
Uh, could you maybe set up forthe people listening at home uh
what the plum club is?
SPEAKER_01 (02:37):
Yeah, sure.
So the plum club is a supplyside organization.
Um, we consider ourselves andour members to be best in class
suppliers within the jewelry andthe watch industry.
You know, the the origins of theclub is founded on the principle
of the JCK trade show and andtrade shows.
And uh those that have visitedour pavilion uh at the JCK trade
(03:00):
show are familiar um with the uhthe the dog and pony show that
we put on.
Yeah.
Um I would tell you if I can sumit up best, is our mission as an
organization of these best inclass suppliers is to foster
professional connections acrossthe jewelry supply chain and
help shape the industry'sfuture.
(03:22):
That's really what we're tryingto do.
Our tagline is educate,innovate, and connect.
Connection is really the biggestthing that we focus on:
connecting our members,connecting our members to
retailers, connecting retailersto each other, and connecting
everybody to innovation andeducation.
And that's really the basis ofthe club.
Again, the foundation is withinthe JCK trade show and the
(03:45):
pavilion that we have, but we'retrying very hard to um be
relevant uh year-round.
SPEAKER_03 (03:52):
It's really quite interesting because uh some of
the different vendors that arein the group, um, you might say
are competitors um, you know,outside of uh the plum club, but
uh it seems like there is stillsome uh like a lot of
camaraderie and a lot of like umbettering each other and and
yeah, connecting.
(04:12):
Um how do you kind of puttogether?
Yes, we are kind of fightingmore or less over like the same
uh market, but we are alsotogether in the Plum Club and
trying to drive the industryforward.
SPEAKER_01 (04:24):
So it's a good question.
I I will answer it um uharguably a little vague.
Um, but what I would say is yes,we are competitors, members do
compete with each other, butthere is enough business to go
around for all of us.
And we are founded on theprinciples of camaraderie.
That is the way the club wasfounded, was individuals that
(04:46):
had a shared that werecompetitors, but had a shared
goal for bettering the industry,for pooling their resources
together to shape the future ofwhat was coming in the industry
and really setting the tone.
And I think we all have thatshared goal today is although
there's business that we're allgoing after that may overlap, in
(05:08):
the end of the day, we all havethe same goal of being best in
class and trying to help set thetrend for the future of the
industry and not look backwards.
SPEAKER_03 (05:17):
Ah, that's great to hear.
And um, you know, the newpresident and uh newest youngest
president I heard.
Um, could you maybe set up forme?
So you're leading these allthese independent um vendors and
companies, and it's they alloperate again independently.
What is the role of a presidentin kind of driving this uh
(05:39):
pirate ship forward?
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
Aside from the bylaws and the legalities of the
organization, we love bylaws.
Yes, of course.
Um, my role is really to helpguide our executive team.
We have a phenomenal executivedirector and staff behind him,
as well as our communicationsdirector.
That's Lawrence Hassan, MichaelO'Connor, and there are others
(06:03):
that work behind the scenes likeMaria, and I don't want to lose
a shout-out to somebody.
Um, but my job is to really helpguide the team that's in place
day in and day out for the clubfor the betterment of what our
strategic plans are.
And so that may be somethinglike this year, we we debuted a
retailer uh lounge at the show,at the JCK show, which was a
(06:26):
space that the retailers couldgo inside the pavilion, get
themselves a little bit fancierof a coffee or a snack outside
of the bistro where they weren'tbothered necessarily.
They could have their ownmeeting and then go on about
their day with the goal ofkeeping everybody in the
pavilion, you know, and nothaving to leave and wander off.
Um whether it's something likethat, whether it's our Plum Club
(06:48):
Research Report, which pulls allof the resources of our 52, 53
odd members and going out andfinding out what the consumer
wants, what is the consumerlooking for, and sharing that
information with our retailers.
It's everything from there tounfortunately dealing with the
ins and outs of uh helping ourpavilion chair um make sure that
(07:11):
we are set up for the show, um,helping to usher in new
membership.
Yeah.
Um, and and really recruit thosethat are also considered best in
class.
So um I think if I had to sum itup, it's really a guidance.
And my role is to really guideum to help fulfill the vision
that I have.
SPEAKER_03 (07:32):
Yeah, I guess on on the topic of membership, um, how
does that how does that work?
I mean, you said like 52, 53-ishmembers.
Is it one of those things wherelike someone's got to leave to
be allowed in, kind of like aclub, or is it a uh, you know,
what is like best in class, kindof a loose term.
How do you uh make thosedecisions?
SPEAKER_01 (07:52):
Fair, fair question.
I would say um it is a vagueterm.
Um, we have two different kindsof membership.
We have exhibiting members andwe have non-exhibiting members.
Exhibiting members are limited.
Um, we only have so much spacein our pavilion.
Uh, members are growing everyday and some are shrinking, but
a lot of members are taking moreboosts than they've ever taken
(08:14):
before.
Um, and so we are running out ofspace.
And for those listening, if youare interested, uh apply sooner
rather than later because we arelimited in what we can offer
from an exhibiting standpoint,which is the biggest draw of the
club.
Our non-exhibiting membership isthose that take advantage of the
other 360 days a year.
SPEAKER_02 (08:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:37):
Um, and that is no, that doesn't have a cap.
Um, we we offer that out to uhyou still have to apply and uh
go before a few differentcommittees that will um dictate
whether you are best in classand have the right reputation.
Um, as a reminder out there, weare the only trade organization
that requires its membership andits bylaws to be RJC certified.
(09:00):
Um so those are um, we have avery, very strong focus on
responsible sourcing andsustainability as a club.
SPEAKER_03 (09:08):
That's great.
SPEAKER_01 (09:09):
We feel that it is a uh a mandated requirement that
helps set us apart from anyother organizations out there.
So there are some limitations onwho can get into the club.
Um, however, uh there's a lot ofgreat best in class companies
out there, and I don't think wehave all of them, and we
definitely want more.
SPEAKER_03 (09:30):
That's that's so great to hear.
And you know, having that uhthat focus on, yeah, maybe a due
diligence to make sure that yourmembers are doing right by by
the world and by um, you know,their supply chains, very
important.
And I love that you guys havethat as part of your kind of a
foundational point.
Um, Steven, I've always wantedto ask, I mean, on the topic of
(09:54):
JCK, what do you guys do withthe carpet, the purple carpet,
all the 360 days out of theyear?
Because, like, you know, I'd beokay with having it at my house,
but what do you what do you guysdo with that?
SPEAKER_01 (10:04):
So I I wish I could tell you that we roll it out
every time a customer comes andthey're just rolling in the
purple carpet.
Um, that is that is tightlyguarded storage.
Tightly guarded in storage tomake sure that plush, that plush
feeling doesn't ever get uhdissolved in any way or or stomp
down.
So it's stepping up.
(10:24):
We take good care.
Yeah, exactly.
We take good care of uh of ourarguably biggest draw.
I love that show is the carpet.
SPEAKER_03 (10:33):
You walk in there and it's way quieter.
It's like it sucks up all thenoise.
It's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
Yeah, you know what?
It's just it's part of the thevision that we have.
And I and I give a huge shoutout to our pavilion team.
Um, what they do day in and dayout to get that show ready and
and understanding everythingfrom the graphics to the
placement of the lights, um, andto where the entrances are and
(11:00):
the feng shui of the entirepavilion and and the flow of the
foot traffic.
It all is part and parcel tothat feeling, that feeling you
get when you walk past thosethose gates, right?
And and that that big awning,and you you walk into the club
and you you do feel something.
At least I feel something.
I feel something.
And it's why I feel so honoredto help lead the organization is
(11:22):
you feel something there.
And it's not just the carpet,it's the entire atmosphere that
pulls together.
And it's something that we hopeum our retailer partners, you
know, come to really respectabout us.
Is the the environment that wefoster?
SPEAKER_03 (11:37):
So how was how was JCK?
I didn't go this year, I wentlast year, and um JCK was
everybody says it was it wasit's get better every year with
um and bigger every year afterCOVID, and everyone's kind of
like sort of getting back intothe swing of things, seems like
it's back.
Um, what was your thoughts onJCK this year?
SPEAKER_01 (11:56):
Um, I thought it was a great show.
Um, I thought there weredefinitely in terms of
independence to majors, todepartments, uh stores, and and
all across the spectrum, onlineretailers, et cetera.
We saw a lot of good from allacross the board.
We saw majors there, we sawindependents there, we saw
(12:17):
buying groups there, we sawonline retailers there, and we
saw emerging, uh emergingartists, emerging jewelers out
there.
They may not be for everycompany, but we saw a lot of
that, which is awesome.
Um, we also felt a lot ofcamaraderie, a lot of the
industry coming together.
And what plagued the show lastyear was tariff, tariff, tariff.
(12:37):
Everyone was talking about it.
And what plagued the show thisyear was a little bit about
gold, a little bit aboutconcerns over gold price, but it
was all about innovation.
And the experience I had andspoke to many of my friends and
peers in the industry, iseverybody was looking for what's
new, what's innovative, what'sunique, because the customer is
so much more informed these daysand they're so much more
(13:00):
conditioned, especially bysocial media.
And if we're not on theforefront of the trends and
putting those innovative ideasin front of our retail partners,
you know, they get left behindand they come to expect that
from us.
And so I thought this show wasespecially good because there
was no negativity that plaguedthe conversation.
(13:23):
It was all about product.
And I would argue in the end ofthe day, whether you're selling
tech, whether you're sellingdiamonds, whether you're selling
gold, whether you're sellingeverything in between, what we
do is we sell product.
And the more the conversation isabout product, the better the
results of the show is.
SPEAKER_03 (13:38):
Yeah.
And you know what?
Having that, having that monkeyoff the back when it comes to um
yeah, tariffs, but again, it'scrazy.
I mean, just in the last fewdays, um, Canadian tariffs 50%
crazy, and Brazilian tariffs,too.
Um, I mean, the Plum Club ispretty uh servicing
(13:58):
internationally, and it also um,I mean, JCK brings people from
all over, all over.
Is that something that you guyshave internal meetings about?
Like, you know, if this happens,we need to be prepared for this.
And is that like something youguys are kind of meeting about?
Or I mean, you guys all run yourown independent uh businesses,
but I do think that theseorganizations that kind of band
(14:21):
together certain certainproviders, uh, it's almost like
it behooves them to kind of worktogether so to figure out how to
get around these things.
SPEAKER_01 (14:31):
Yeah, I think it's part of the camaraderie you feel
in the club is many of usmanufacture in different places.
For example, Gold Star uhfactory based in in Mumbai,
India, where some have Thailandor China, yes, um, or as well as
uh India and others and so um,or even Canadian manufacturers,
(14:51):
right?
And so um it's very difficult tomake a collective decision on
how to target that.
What we are doing is making surethat our members are aware of
the resources at their disposal.
If we have a really good legalstrategy or law firm, rather
than safeguarding that for theindividual, we're sharing that
(15:12):
with our organization.
We're making sure our membersknow, well, at least as as many
of us try to, is to let theother members know hey, this is
what we can offer you someadvice, some direction.
We're part of the conversation.
Um, you know, I would say itleads me to, you know, one of
the initiatives we're doingright now is we're in deep
(15:34):
conversations with Jewelers ofAmerica, who's leading the
political conversation right nowin Washington and bringing the
Plum Club on board as astrategic partner for the the JA
Pack, um, which is extremelyexciting for us to just to
answer your original question isit's about staying in the
(15:54):
conversation.
The power that the club has iswe are made up of what I would
say is the best and thebrightest.
And so having us at the table,um it's only positive.
And so the fact that we're inthose conversations, when we
disseminate that information,like for example, the RJC, there
are plump club representativesthat sit on the RJC board and
(16:17):
then disseminate that RJCinformation, everything that's
going on to all of the members.
So nobody is behind.
That's and that's the value,that's the real value there.
It's not that I came up with onestrategy that's the best
strategy and I'm gonna safeguardit for myself.
It's really all about the flowof information.
It's about connection betweenmembers, between colleagues,
(16:38):
between the industry.
SPEAKER_03 (16:39):
Man, it's so interesting.
It's almost like, I don't know,I don't want to diminish the
importance of it.
It almost kind of feels like umlike a team or like um like a
fraternity where thesebusinesses kind of worked are
independent but also worktogether.
Um, how have they informed you?
I mean, you are simultaneouslysitting on these two businesses.
(17:02):
What have you learned from beingyou know president of Gold Star,
you know, managing supplychains, managing um, you know,
this this very large uh businessthat is is you know quite old as
well.
How are you managing that?
And then also, what have youlearned from being president of
(17:22):
this you know conglomeration?
Um, how do they kind of informeach other?
SPEAKER_01 (17:26):
Um, that's an interesting question.
I can't talk about the hazingthan the members go through.
So, you know, that fraternitypart is out.
Uh, it's it's like fight club.
We're not allowed to talk aboutit.
You can't talk about it.
Um I would say logistics arenever easy.
Whether you're a jewelry supplychain or a trade show
(17:47):
organization or preparing for anew research report or whatever
it may be, um, logistics arejust not easy.
And what I've found in in ourjewelry manufacturing business
is that owning the supply chainsoup to nuts has been a huge,
huge advantage uh to Gold Staras a company.
(18:08):
It's allowed us to move into theforefront of the future uh of
the, or I guess that's a that'sa little bit of a notch more,
uh, move into the forefront ofthe industry and capture what we
feel the future is, which isspeed of manufacturing,
customization in a in astrategic timeline, service,
service, service, and relying onothers to provide that to you is
(18:32):
a very difficult thing to do.
So owning your own supply chainis extremely important.
And I've tried to bring some ofthat mentality into the
organization where we really tryand do everything in-house now,
and we really try and planin-house.
And that's part of our newstrategy with our communications
director, formerly marketingdirector, Michael O'Connor,
(18:53):
who's really leading the charge.
We've got um articles out therein Forbes and uh a few that
we're working on with some otheruh publications that are not
just trade-only publications.
We're trying to get the word outthere of what we're uh
attempting to accomplish.
And by controlling the flow ofinformation, like I like to
(19:14):
control our supply chain, Ithink we're much more um
successful in our strategies.
SPEAKER_03 (19:21):
It's really that's really cool to hear.
Um I'm a big fan of leadership.
I think it's an interestingconcept.
I've been very fortunate.
I I consider myself like umpretty natural at that.
That's something that has cometo me.
But I come at it from a a lot oftimes from a sports background,
and I find that sometimes umsports uh sports leadership is
(19:44):
almost, you know, it it's greatand it and it can work in in a
lot of different ways, butthere's also a lot of different
ways to be a leader.
There's you know, there's alsobeing a quiet leader, there's
also um yeah, being like leadingfrom a flat hierarchy, which I
think is is quite interesting,like um, you know, one that
doesn't have hierarchical roles.
(20:09):
But I guess I've alwayswondered, like, for example,
setting the uh initiatives forfor the poem club, um, how are
those being determined?
Like, are you, for example,these research you did a
research um project, um workingwith the J with Jay.
Is that something that's justlike, oh, they just kind of
naturally develop?
Or is it like, hey, we should dosome research about this?
(20:32):
Um, how are you kind of settingthe course for that?
SPEAKER_01 (20:35):
Yeah, I mean, it's a great, it's a really good
question.
I say personally, I set thecourse by uh knowing that I
don't know everything.
Oh, that's great.
I I I work with executivecoaching as well, and I and I
feel like it's a really strong,yeah, and I feel like it's a
really strong um message to tosend out is that um there's
nothing wrong with executivecoaching.
And I think if if anything, it'sa it's a really huge asset uh
(20:57):
and has worked well for me.
Um, I would say um it's not justa few deciding for the many.
One of the things that I triedto do as uh the vice president
leading our strategic planningcommittee was bring contrarian
voices to the table.
That's cool.
Those that maybe don't have thesame outlook or same opinion or
(21:19):
same customer base as some ofus, and really understanding
where their issues are.
It doesn't mean that it's goingto dictate the entire plan.
Um, but that was really crucialin setting our new strategic
initiatives.
It was really all about gettingas many, not all contrarian
voices, but getting as manyvarying voices to the table.
(21:41):
The diversity of membership isour strength.
And tapping into that, just likediversity of your offices or
your companies, that's whereyour strength lies.
Right.
I can tell you every day, youknow, but until you see it,
right?
Where my father and I are, youknow, we're not, we're not,
we're not the important.
Important ones.
It's the hundred people outthere that make this machine go.
(22:05):
And I think that's what wetapped into at the club in
recent years, is we've got areally big machine.
And there's all these people andall these different members.
And once we started to tap intowhat their opinions were and
what their feedback was, we gotto make a really, really great
strategic plan filled withpillars that mattered to
(22:27):
everybody and arguablyquantified the value of their
membership.
SPEAKER_03 (22:31):
Yeah.
Man, it's it could be scarythough.
Uh I I appreciate that you're sowilling to bring in um
incontrarian views and andthat's you know, more power to
you.
A lot of people are are loath tobecause um I think that they
sometimes mistake um d you knowthe devil's advocate kind of
aspect and they they conflate itwith just impeding progress.
(22:56):
And I think that you know, oh,if everybody is in alignment,
then we'll get so much moredone.
But then I do kind of think,yeah, you're you're onto
something where it's like if youbring in like um a different
perspective, suddenly you're nothopefully you're not missing
anything.
Uh that's you know a lot ofcredit.
SPEAKER_01 (23:12):
Yeah, and it's all and it's also I think it's not
just about missing something, Ithink it's also can you change
my mind a little bit?
You know, we're open to changingyour mind is is that's a great
sign of a leader.
I think that's a leadershipquality.
I agree.
Uh, can't say I've always beenopen to changing my mind.
Sometimes I have my sight set onsomething, and yes, I'm sure we
(23:33):
can all be that way.
Um, but if I can be convincedotherwise, I want to be because
nobody has a monopoly on goodideas.
SPEAKER_03 (23:43):
Wow, that's really wow, what a line.
Love that.
Yeah, especially, you know,those the businesses in the plum
club, like, yes, a lot of timesit's all you know, it's all
jewelry, but at the same time,uh I'm assuming the perspective
on some of these things isprobably different when it comes
to someone who does um charmsversus someone who does
(24:03):
diamonds.
I can only imagine.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
We're packaging, right?
We have packaging and andservices.
You know, uh GSI is a member andthey're a laboratory and not
dealing with necessarily thesame things that the jewelry or
diamond manufacturer is workingwith.
Um it is again so cruciallyimportant to have people from
(24:27):
all of those organizations atthe table having the discussion.
Um unfortunately, does can doesevery member contribute as much
as I would hope?
And and that, and should I besaying that?
Yeah, probably not.
But you know what?
I hope one of them hears thisand says, wow, I gotta get more
involved.
We have such a robust amount ofmembers that are involved on a
(24:49):
day-to-day basis that volunteertheir time.
Remember, people don't get paidfor this, right?
They're really volunteeringtheir time, their thoughts,
their energy into makingsomething bigger than themselves
better.
And I call me uh a hopelessromantic, but I think that
there's something really specialabout that.
We are an industry of magic, of,of memories, of gifting, of
(25:12):
love, of whatever kind ofadjective you want to throw into
it.
There's so much excitementaround what we do.
And the more people that gettogether with that energy, that
positivity, the more change thatwe can bring about.
And I know that sounds a littlecliche and maybe a little naive
(25:32):
in in some ways, but I wouldtell you um, I had this
conversation, and and I'm Ithink I can plug this uh um uh
and and take his his quote here.
Uh it's actually his father'squote, I believe.
I I was with um JK, the CEO ofSignet um at the JCK show, and
we were talking a little bitabout leadership um and talking
(25:54):
about uh positivity and bringingthat.
And uh he he he said, K I P A,uh I think it was K I P A.
Keep it positive always.
And I believe he was he wasquoting his father, and I
really, really resonated withthat.
And I think that is what theclub is trying to do.
Keep that positivity rollinginto the next generation, into
(26:18):
the innovation, into the entireindustry, and keep that
momentum, right?
We don't want to go backwards,we only want to go forwards.
And our industry is plaguedwith, you know, we were$90
billion 10 years ago and we're$90 billion today.
SPEAKER_03 (26:36):
No, I I just think that you're totally onto it.
It's like I do not think thatpositivity has ever hurt
anything.
I don't think, I mean, uh maybeif you're like hopelessly
optimistic and you're not takingstock of of your surroundings,
but I just think that positivityis like the the wind beneath
your sails, you know, it's likeyou're gonna be rowing, but I do
(26:59):
find that having a positivemindset makes uh you more
clear-headed and and morewilling to um take calculated
risks as well.
And when you're positive, you'remore likely to believe that
you're going to succeed as abyproduct of that.
And hearing that that is uh likekind of like a core principle of
(27:20):
your mindset, I definitely wouldagree.
That's uh that's a great one.
SPEAKER_01 (27:25):
Thank you.
And you know, it's uh I wish Ihad a crystal ball to tell you
what the future uh the futureholds.
I think for the Plum Club andour future, it is bright.
We we hope that your listenersare gonna see a lot more of us,
um, not just at the JCK show,but year-round.
And we hope that ourcommitments, especially to
(27:49):
responsible sourcing, are adriving force into wanting to,
you know, wanting moreindividuals to become members,
you know, and and really wantingother companies out there to
join something a little bitbigger than just themselves.
SPEAKER_03 (28:06):
So at the same time, I I guess that that kind of
brings up a good point.
Um so year-round, we obviouslyknow you guys from JCK and you
guys do this um this researchproject, which I would love to
hear more about.
Um what other um kind of thingsare the the poem club working
on?
Uh it sounds like you have theleverage, you have the the
(28:28):
minds.
Um what do you guys uh kind offocus on uh other than the the
five days of Vegas?
SPEAKER_01 (28:35):
Yeah, so we are in the midst, as as I as I uh kind
of alluded to, of uh ushering ina new strategy.
So I can't go into extreme,extreme detail.
What I would say is we'relooking to educate.
We're looking to educate ourmembers, we're looking to
educate retailers, whetherthat's through the Jewelers
Resource Center, whether that'sthrough symposiums that we've
(28:57):
put on in the past, whetherthat's through, you know,
building our own classes orsomething for our retail
partners.
That's that's kind of one majorpillar, right?
We're also looking to um havepolitical involvement, which is
a little bit of what I talked toyou about with the JA, getting
more involved from a legalstandpoint with JA and the JVC,
(29:21):
and understanding what are ourlegal options in order to battle
tariffs and things of thatnature.
Right.
And then we're trying tocommunicate out there.
We're trying to communicate ourcommitment to responsible
sourcing.
We're trying to push others toadvocate not just for
responsible sourcing, but showaction of responsible sourcing.
(29:45):
All the cool kids are doing it.
Yeah, right?
Communicating that out there andmaking sure and hopefully having
that rub off on otherorganizations so that we can
foster this hopefully largergroup of not just the plum club,
but an entire industry committedto responsible and sustainable
sourcing.
SPEAKER_03 (30:04):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (30:04):
And lastly, I would say when it comes to innovation,
um, I don't know if itinnovation necessarily means
innovative product.
I think it can.
Yeah.
I don't know if it necessarilymeans innovation in a technology
world.
It certainly can.
I think the way we look atinnovation year-round is how do
we make the industry better?
(30:26):
Nice.
And how do we make things betterfor our members and our retail
partners?
And sometimes innovating couldbe something as small as giving
them a place, a quiet place atthe at the end of the show, this
to get a nice espresso and havea beat, you know.
And the other time it may be,you know, pulling those
(30:47):
customers or the consumerstogether, finding out what
they're looking for and sharingthat information and those trend
reports with the retailer.
Or it could be something assimple as during COVID
partnering up with techsuppliers to make sure that when
we couldn't travel, we hadvirtual catalogs that could go
back and forth, right?
(31:09):
Being at the forefront ofsetting the tone for the
industry, that's what we want todo 365 days around.
SPEAKER_03 (31:15):
It's what a nice kind of again, I appreciate your
mindset on these kinds of thingsbecause I find sometimes the I
oscillate between thinking toobig and too small.
And to hear that you're thinkingin them in the full spectrum,
like you said, on the one hand,lobbying to improve the jewelry
industry's standing in inpolitics and like making and
(31:38):
trying to like protect thejewelers at large.
And then on the other hand, justa quiet putting together a nice,
quiet spot for some jewelers tohave a good cup of espresso and
maybe like get away from thesuper bright lights of that
room.
Oh my gosh.
But those are both, like yousaid, uh, innovation.
And both of them are betteringthe jewelry industry, whether
(32:01):
it's for a minute or for anothergeneration.
I kind of love that.
I think that that kind of showsthe full spectrum of what
innovation can be.
It doesn't always have to be abetter mousetrap.
It can be uh yeah, it can be assimple as a cup of coffee.
It's as simple as a cup ofcoffee.
SPEAKER_01 (32:18):
Wow, what a great line.
I love that.
No, it's I'm glad that you areexcited by it.
And and I and I reallyappreciate what you guys do with
the In the Loop podcast becauseyou know, I've gotten a chance
to listen to some really greatpeople and just hear so much
excitement around this business.
I fell into I didn't although myfather, you know, was in it, I I
(32:39):
didn't start in the jewelryindustry.
You didn't.
I was 20, I did not.
I I I was 25, and my father saidit's kind of now or never.
And I thought this was going tobe a one-year stopping ground
for me.
And 10 years later, I haven'tlooked back because it's it's
completely, you know, capturedme, this industry, the people in
it, yeah, the things that wesell, the the dreams that we
(33:03):
sell, and the overallcamaraderie of our small but big
world is so uplifting anddriving that I can't imagine
being in another industry.
And I've had the real pleasureof being able to talk to others
that have such a great view ofthe jewelry and and diamond
(33:24):
business.
SPEAKER_03 (33:25):
Uh, what I couldn't have said it better.
I find the people of the jewelryindustry, like I always say
jewelers, but that can sometimesexclude some people.
But like just the folks that arehere, what I find so exciting is
they still they still love it.
They still love the jewelry andthey still love talking about
it.
And you know, in insurance salesor something like that.
(33:48):
I'm sure that when you go tothose meetings, I'm sure that
they probably don't want to talkabout more about insurance sales
or whatever it's gonna be.
Uh, but when you go out, likethe mingling of um personal life
and like, hey, how you doing?
Like what's been new since thelast show, but also just like
talking about exciting stuffabout jewelry.
(34:09):
What I've learned is thatjewelers love talking about
jewelry, and that is such a kindof a very comforting thing to
hear because we're not all init.
I mean, for the money.
I mean, that's part of it.
But at the same time, hearingthat people still love it and
they love bringing peopletogether and having these
helping uh disperse theseartifacts that are symbols of
(34:30):
love, I just find that very umuh I don't know, comforting,
kind of nice to hear.
SPEAKER_01 (34:36):
I I couldn't agree more.
I I will um I will uh tell youuh a quick little story.
If do we have a minute?
Yeah, absolutely.
And I I've equated this to likeone of the best moments is I
unfortunately I got hacked.
My bank account got compromisedabout a couple of weeks ago.
(34:57):
And I, of course, you got todeal with all the canceling of
the cards and everything, and Ihad to cancel my actual checking
account and I had to go inperson to do it.
And so I'm sitting at the bankand I'm looking down, and the
teller that's helping me,awesome guy, is wearing a
diamond men's channel band.
And I just I'm looking at it andI just know I know I'm not the
one sitting at a bench oranything, but I just I know our
(35:19):
product, I know, and I said,excuse me, sir, do you mind uh
if I ask you where you got yourlink?
And he said, My wife and Ibought it at Zale's.
I don't, I'm not trying to be uhnot rude, but I I'm not trying
to like stray away from whatwe're doing.
But would you mind taking itoff?
(35:39):
Can I see the inscriptioninside?
And he took it off, and sureenough, was the gold star
standing on it.
That's sick.
I was ecstatic that whole day.
Yeah.
Estatic.
That's gotta be like a musician.
Yeah, you know, that's gotta belike a musician walking down the
street and hearing somebodylistening to their song loud in
(36:00):
their headphones.
SPEAKER_03 (36:01):
Yeah, so cool.
SPEAKER_01 (36:02):
And to me, that was the epitome of why I do this.
SPEAKER_03 (36:06):
Wow, what a really neat.
I love hearing that kind ofstuff.
Uh, hearing about people like umjust appreciating jewelry or
like appreciating like the thestories behind stuff, you know,
even if it's like that theydidn't they weren't the ones
that made it, but like havingthat personal connection, um
yeah, that's really what a coolstory.
(36:28):
Uh man, in the middle of a reallow of your of your year, having
that and that it makes your day,that's great.
SPEAKER_01 (36:34):
It doesn't all have to be the dollars and cents of
it all.
And don't get me wrong, a lot ofit is, a lot of it is, and and
we run businesses and supplychains that are very, very
difficult and staffs that are,you know, all encompassing, and
nobody's got all the answers,you know, and jewelry can go
wrong.
Better than you're dealing inrocks and metal.
(36:55):
Jewelry can totally go wrong,and it can always turn the other
way on you.
But um, I think as long as wekeep talking about it, as long
as we keep trying to make thingsbetter, and as long as we
understand that there is enoughbusiness to go around for all of
us, so it's better to work as ateam rather than as foes.
(37:17):
And that I would tell you is thebiggest value that the plum club
has.
SPEAKER_03 (37:25):
What a what a poignant, you know what?
I would love to leave it rightthere, Steven.
That's so great to hear.
If people are interested in inlearning more about the plum
club, maybe checking out uh yourguys' fantastic podcast, um,
where would they go?
SPEAKER_01 (37:39):
So you can go to the plumclub.com and on there there
are ways to contact us.
Um, there are um open spots, asI said, for people to apply and
and and become members.
Um, I would also make myselfavailable at any time.
Um, I can be reached um byemail.
(37:59):
Um on the website, you can findmy email if you go to Gold Star.
Uh, it's pretty easy to find.
Um, and I welcome questions,input, anything, uh, or just
people looking to get in touchand learn more.
Um, so plumclub.com.
SPEAKER_03 (38:14):
Fantastic.
Steven, I really enjoyed this.
Super cool to hear.
And uh I'm so encouraged when Iwhen I learn about the the next
generation stepping in forleadership roles um in any
industry.
I think it's very important.
It's something that is very uhnear and dear to my heart, um,
just on a personal level, evenat my own in my own town.
I I love seeing when uh the nextgeneration doesn't step up,
(38:36):
traditions unfortunately end.
And I find that uh you guys havesomething really exciting going
on.
Um, I love getting a chance tostop by uh in JCK, and it's like
going to like a carnival andgetting to see all the cool new
stuff.
So um hearing that you guys arefocused on the betterment of the
of the industry is just reallyencouraging.
So um, thank you again forjoining me.
(38:57):
Thank you, Michael.
It was a real pleasure.
All right.
Thanks everybody.
We'll be back next week,Tuesday, with another episode.
Cheers.
Bye.
All right, everybody.
That's the end of the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
My guest this week was StevenLurch from the Home Club and
(39:19):
Gold Star.
This episode was brought to youby Punchmark and produced and
hosted by me, Michael Burpo.
This episode was edited by PaulSuarez with music by Ross
Cocker.
Don't forget to rate the podcaston Spotify and Apple Podcasts,
and leave us feedback onpunchmark.com slash loop.
That's L O U P E.
Thanks, and we'll be back nextweek, Tuesday, with another
(39:41):
episode.
Cheers.
Bye.
Welcome back everybody to In the Loop.
What is up everybody?
My name is Michael Burpo.
Thanks again for listening to Inthe Loop.
This week I'm joined by StevenLurch.
He's president of Gold Star andhe's also the president of the
Pump Club.
The Pump Club is this kind ofconglomeration of jewelry
(00:21):
vendors that make their bigappearance every year at JCK.
They have this big purple carpetthat I'm obsessed with.
But they also work year-roundbehind the scenes on some
special interests, like lobbyingagainst terrorists, and also
doing some uh research projectsabout jewelry.
And Steven is the new presidentand also youngest president in
(00:42):
quote unquote history, and he isfantastic on the mic.
I find speaking with him isreally inspiring.
And uh, as a next generation youknow business leader, I find it
uh very encouraging to know thatuh someone like him is leading
an important group in thejewelry industry.
I hope you enjoy ourconversation.
SPEAKER_00 (01:05):
This episode is brought to you by Punchmark, the
jewelry industry's favoritewebsite platform and digital
growth agency.
Our mission reaches way beyondtechnology.
With decades of experience andlong-lasting industry
relationships, Punchmark enablesjewelry businesses to flourish
in any marketplace.
We consider our clients ourfriends, as many of them have
(01:25):
been friends way before becomingclients.
Punchmark's own success comesfrom the fact that we have a
much deeper need and obligationto help our friends succeed.
Whether you're looking forbetter e-commerce performance,
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Punchmark's website andmarketing services were made
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It's never too late to transformyour business and stitch
(01:47):
together your digital andphysical worlds in a way that
achieves tremendous growth andresults.
Schedule a guided demo today atpunchmark.com slash go.
And now back to the show.
SPEAKER_03 (02:18):
So excited to have you on uh the plum club.
Uh, I really have alwaysappreciated all of the members.
Every time I think I'veinterviewed maybe seven or eight
different members at this point,and uh now getting a chance to
interview the new president.
A real honor.
Uh, could you maybe set up forthe people listening at home uh
what the plum club is?
SPEAKER_01 (02:37):
Yeah, sure.
So the plum club is a supplyside organization.
Um, we consider ourselves andour members to be best in class
suppliers within the jewelry andthe watch industry.
You know, the the origins of theclub is founded on the principle
of the JCK trade show and andtrade shows.
And uh those that have visitedour pavilion uh at the JCK trade
(03:00):
show are familiar um with the uhthe the dog and pony show that
we put on.
Yeah.
Um I would tell you if I can sumit up best, is our mission as an
organization of these best inclass suppliers is to foster
professional connections acrossthe jewelry supply chain and
help shape the industry'sfuture.
(03:22):
That's really what we're tryingto do.
Our tagline is educate,innovate, and connect.
Connection is really the biggestthing that we focus on:
connecting our members,connecting our members to
retailers, connecting retailersto each other, and connecting
everybody to innovation andeducation.
And that's really the basis ofthe club.
Again, the foundation is withinthe JCK trade show and the
(03:45):
pavilion that we have, but we'retrying very hard to um be
relevant uh year-round.
SPEAKER_03 (03:52):
It's really quite interesting because uh some of
the different vendors that arein the group, um, you might say
are competitors um, you know,outside of uh the plum club, but
uh it seems like there is stillsome uh like a lot of
camaraderie and a lot of like umbettering each other and and
yeah, connecting.
(04:12):
Um how do you kind of puttogether?
Yes, we are kind of fightingmore or less over like the same
uh market, but we are alsotogether in the Plum Club and
trying to drive the industryforward.
SPEAKER_01 (04:24):
So it's a good question.
I I will answer it um uharguably a little vague.
Um, but what I would say is yes,we are competitors, members do
compete with each other, butthere is enough business to go
around for all of us.
And we are founded on theprinciples of camaraderie.
That is the way the club wasfounded, was individuals that
(04:46):
had a shared that werecompetitors, but had a shared
goal for bettering the industry,for pooling their resources
together to shape the future ofwhat was coming in the industry
and really setting the tone.
And I think we all have thatshared goal today is although
there's business that we're allgoing after that may overlap, in
(05:08):
the end of the day, we all havethe same goal of being best in
class and trying to help set thetrend for the future of the
industry and not look backwards.
SPEAKER_03 (05:17):
Ah, that's great to hear.
And um, you know, the newpresident and uh newest youngest
president I heard.
Um, could you maybe set up forme?
So you're leading these allthese independent um vendors and
companies, and it's they alloperate again independently.
What is the role of a presidentin kind of driving this uh
(05:39):
pirate ship forward?
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
Aside from the bylaws and the legalities of the
organization, we love bylaws.
Yes, of course.
Um, my role is really to helpguide our executive team.
We have a phenomenal executivedirector and staff behind him,
as well as our communicationsdirector.
That's Lawrence Hassan, MichaelO'Connor, and there are others
(06:03):
that work behind the scenes likeMaria, and I don't want to lose
a shout-out to somebody.
Um, but my job is to really helpguide the team that's in place
day in and day out for the clubfor the betterment of what our
strategic plans are.
And so that may be somethinglike this year, we we debuted a
retailer uh lounge at the show,at the JCK show, which was a
(06:26):
space that the retailers couldgo inside the pavilion, get
themselves a little bit fancierof a coffee or a snack outside
of the bistro where they weren'tbothered necessarily.
They could have their ownmeeting and then go on about
their day with the goal ofkeeping everybody in the
pavilion, you know, and nothaving to leave and wander off.
Um whether it's something likethat, whether it's our Plum Club
(06:48):
Research Report, which pulls allof the resources of our 52, 53
odd members and going out andfinding out what the consumer
wants, what is the consumerlooking for, and sharing that
information with our retailers.
It's everything from there tounfortunately dealing with the
ins and outs of uh helping ourpavilion chair um make sure that
(07:11):
we are set up for the show, um,helping to usher in new
membership.
Yeah.
Um, and and really recruit thosethat are also considered best in
class.
So um I think if I had to sum itup, it's really a guidance.
And my role is to really guideum to help fulfill the vision
that I have.
SPEAKER_03 (07:32):
Yeah, I guess on on the topic of membership, um, how
does that how does that work?
I mean, you said like 52, 53-ishmembers.
Is it one of those things wherelike someone's got to leave to
be allowed in, kind of like aclub, or is it a uh, you know,
what is like best in class, kindof a loose term.
How do you uh make thosedecisions?
SPEAKER_01 (07:52):
Fair, fair question.
I would say um it is a vagueterm.
Um, we have two different kindsof membership.
We have exhibiting members andwe have non-exhibiting members.
Exhibiting members are limited.
Um, we only have so much spacein our pavilion.
Uh, members are growing everyday and some are shrinking, but
a lot of members are taking moreboosts than they've ever taken
(08:14):
before.
Um, and so we are running out ofspace.
And for those listening, if youare interested, uh apply sooner
rather than later because we arelimited in what we can offer
from an exhibiting standpoint,which is the biggest draw of the
club.
Our non-exhibiting membership isthose that take advantage of the
other 360 days a year.
SPEAKER_02 (08:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:37):
Um, and that is no, that doesn't have a cap.
Um, we we offer that out to uhyou still have to apply and uh
go before a few differentcommittees that will um dictate
whether you are best in classand have the right reputation.
Um, as a reminder out there, weare the only trade organization
that requires its membership andits bylaws to be RJC certified.
(09:00):
Um so those are um, we have avery, very strong focus on
responsible sourcing andsustainability as a club.
SPEAKER_03 (09:08):
That's great.
SPEAKER_01 (09:09):
We feel that it is a uh a mandated requirement that
helps set us apart from anyother organizations out there.
So there are some limitations onwho can get into the club.
Um, however, uh there's a lot ofgreat best in class companies
out there, and I don't think wehave all of them, and we
definitely want more.
SPEAKER_03 (09:30):
That's that's so great to hear.
And you know, having that uhthat focus on, yeah, maybe a due
diligence to make sure that yourmembers are doing right by by
the world and by um, you know,their supply chains, very
important.
And I love that you guys havethat as part of your kind of a
foundational point.
Um, Steven, I've always wantedto ask, I mean, on the topic of
(09:54):
JCK, what do you guys do withthe carpet, the purple carpet,
all the 360 days out of theyear?
Because, like, you know, I'd beokay with having it at my house,
but what do you what do you guysdo with that?
SPEAKER_01 (10:04):
So I I wish I could tell you that we roll it out
every time a customer comes andthey're just rolling in the
purple carpet.
Um, that is that is tightlyguarded storage.
Tightly guarded in storage tomake sure that plush, that plush
feeling doesn't ever get uhdissolved in any way or or stomp
down.
So it's stepping up.
(10:24):
We take good care.
Yeah, exactly.
We take good care of uh of ourarguably biggest draw.
I love that show is the carpet.
SPEAKER_03 (10:33):
You walk in there and it's way quieter.
It's like it sucks up all thenoise.
It's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (10:38):
Yeah, you know what?
It's just it's part of the thevision that we have.
And I and I give a huge shoutout to our pavilion team.
Um, what they do day in and dayout to get that show ready and
and understanding everythingfrom the graphics to the
placement of the lights, um, andto where the entrances are and
(11:00):
the feng shui of the entirepavilion and and the flow of the
foot traffic.
It all is part and parcel tothat feeling, that feeling you
get when you walk past thosethose gates, right?
And and that that big awning,and you you walk into the club
and you you do feel something.
At least I feel something.
I feel something.
And it's why I feel so honoredto help lead the organization is
(11:22):
you feel something there.
And it's not just the carpet,it's the entire atmosphere that
pulls together.
And it's something that we hopeum our retailer partners, you
know, come to really respectabout us.
Is the the environment that wefoster?
SPEAKER_03 (11:37):
So how was how was JCK?
I didn't go this year, I wentlast year, and um JCK was
everybody says it was it wasit's get better every year with
um and bigger every year afterCOVID, and everyone's kind of
like sort of getting back intothe swing of things, seems like
it's back.
Um, what was your thoughts onJCK this year?
SPEAKER_01 (11:56):
Um, I thought it was a great show.
Um, I thought there weredefinitely in terms of
independence to majors, todepartments, uh stores, and and
all across the spectrum, onlineretailers, et cetera.
We saw a lot of good from allacross the board.
We saw majors there, we sawindependents there, we saw
(12:17):
buying groups there, we sawonline retailers there, and we
saw emerging, uh emergingartists, emerging jewelers out
there.
They may not be for everycompany, but we saw a lot of
that, which is awesome.
Um, we also felt a lot ofcamaraderie, a lot of the
industry coming together.
And what plagued the show lastyear was tariff, tariff, tariff.
(12:37):
Everyone was talking about it.
And what plagued the show thisyear was a little bit about
gold, a little bit aboutconcerns over gold price, but it
was all about innovation.
And the experience I had andspoke to many of my friends and
peers in the industry, iseverybody was looking for what's
new, what's innovative, what'sunique, because the customer is
so much more informed these daysand they're so much more
(13:00):
conditioned, especially bysocial media.
And if we're not on theforefront of the trends and
putting those innovative ideasin front of our retail partners,
you know, they get left behindand they come to expect that
from us.
And so I thought this show wasespecially good because there
was no negativity that plaguedthe conversation.
(13:23):
It was all about product.
And I would argue in the end ofthe day, whether you're selling
tech, whether you're sellingdiamonds, whether you're selling
gold, whether you're sellingeverything in between, what we
do is we sell product.
And the more the conversation isabout product, the better the
results of the show is.
SPEAKER_03 (13:38):
Yeah.
And you know what?
Having that, having that monkeyoff the back when it comes to um
yeah, tariffs, but again, it'scrazy.
I mean, just in the last fewdays, um, Canadian tariffs 50%
crazy, and Brazilian tariffs,too.
Um, I mean, the Plum Club ispretty uh servicing
(13:58):
internationally, and it also um,I mean, JCK brings people from
all over, all over.
Is that something that you guyshave internal meetings about?
Like, you know, if this happens,we need to be prepared for this.
And is that like something youguys are kind of meeting about?
Or I mean, you guys all run yourown independent uh businesses,
but I do think that theseorganizations that kind of band
(14:21):
together certain certainproviders, uh, it's almost like
it behooves them to kind of worktogether so to figure out how to
get around these things.
SPEAKER_01 (14:31):
Yeah, I think it's part of the camaraderie you feel
in the club is many of usmanufacture in different places.
For example, Gold Star uhfactory based in in Mumbai,
India, where some have Thailandor China, yes, um, or as well as
uh India and others and so um,or even Canadian manufacturers,
(14:51):
right?
And so um it's very difficult tomake a collective decision on
how to target that.
What we are doing is making surethat our members are aware of
the resources at their disposal.
If we have a really good legalstrategy or law firm, rather
than safeguarding that for theindividual, we're sharing that
(15:12):
with our organization.
We're making sure our membersknow, well, at least as as many
of us try to, is to let theother members know hey, this is
what we can offer you someadvice, some direction.
We're part of the conversation.
Um, you know, I would say itleads me to, you know, one of
the initiatives we're doingright now is we're in deep
(15:34):
conversations with Jewelers ofAmerica, who's leading the
political conversation right nowin Washington and bringing the
Plum Club on board as astrategic partner for the the JA
Pack, um, which is extremelyexciting for us to just to
answer your original question isit's about staying in the
(15:54):
conversation.
The power that the club has iswe are made up of what I would
say is the best and thebrightest.
And so having us at the table,um it's only positive.
And so the fact that we're inthose conversations, when we
disseminate that information,like for example, the RJC, there
are plump club representativesthat sit on the RJC board and
(16:17):
then disseminate that RJCinformation, everything that's
going on to all of the members.
So nobody is behind.
That's and that's the value,that's the real value there.
It's not that I came up with onestrategy that's the best
strategy and I'm gonna safeguardit for myself.
It's really all about the flowof information.
It's about connection betweenmembers, between colleagues,
(16:38):
between the industry.
SPEAKER_03 (16:39):
Man, it's so interesting.
It's almost like, I don't know,I don't want to diminish the
importance of it.
It almost kind of feels like umlike a team or like um like a
fraternity where thesebusinesses kind of worked are
independent but also worktogether.
Um, how have they informed you?
I mean, you are simultaneouslysitting on these two businesses.
(17:02):
What have you learned from beingyou know president of Gold Star,
you know, managing supplychains, managing um, you know,
this this very large uh businessthat is is you know quite old as
well.
How are you managing that?
And then also, what have youlearned from being president of
(17:22):
this you know conglomeration?
Um, how do they kind of informeach other?
SPEAKER_01 (17:26):
Um, that's an interesting question.
I can't talk about the hazingthan the members go through.
So, you know, that fraternitypart is out.
Uh, it's it's like fight club.
We're not allowed to talk aboutit.
You can't talk about it.
Um I would say logistics arenever easy.
Whether you're a jewelry supplychain or a trade show
(17:47):
organization or preparing for anew research report or whatever
it may be, um, logistics arejust not easy.
And what I've found in in ourjewelry manufacturing business
is that owning the supply chainsoup to nuts has been a huge,
huge advantage uh to Gold Staras a company.
(18:08):
It's allowed us to move into theforefront of the future uh of
the, or I guess that's a that'sa little bit of a notch more,
uh, move into the forefront ofthe industry and capture what we
feel the future is, which isspeed of manufacturing,
customization in a in astrategic timeline, service,
service, service, and relying onothers to provide that to you is
(18:32):
a very difficult thing to do.
So owning your own supply chainis extremely important.
And I've tried to bring some ofthat mentality into the
organization where we really tryand do everything in-house now,
and we really try and planin-house.
And that's part of our newstrategy with our communications
director, formerly marketingdirector, Michael O'Connor,
(18:53):
who's really leading the charge.
We've got um articles out therein Forbes and uh a few that
we're working on with some otheruh publications that are not
just trade-only publications.
We're trying to get the word outthere of what we're uh
attempting to accomplish.
And by controlling the flow ofinformation, like I like to
(19:14):
control our supply chain, Ithink we're much more um
successful in our strategies.
SPEAKER_03 (19:21):
It's really that's really cool to hear.
Um I'm a big fan of leadership.
I think it's an interestingconcept.
I've been very fortunate.
I I consider myself like umpretty natural at that.
That's something that has cometo me.
But I come at it from a a lot oftimes from a sports background,
and I find that sometimes umsports uh sports leadership is
(19:44):
almost, you know, it it's greatand it and it can work in in a
lot of different ways, butthere's also a lot of different
ways to be a leader.
There's you know, there's alsobeing a quiet leader, there's
also um yeah, being like leadingfrom a flat hierarchy, which I
think is is quite interesting,like um, you know, one that
doesn't have hierarchical roles.
(20:09):
But I guess I've alwayswondered, like, for example,
setting the uh initiatives forfor the poem club, um, how are
those being determined?
Like, are you, for example,these research you did a
research um project, um workingwith the J with Jay.
Is that something that's justlike, oh, they just kind of
naturally develop?
Or is it like, hey, we should dosome research about this?
(20:32):
Um, how are you kind of settingthe course for that?
SPEAKER_01 (20:35):
Yeah, I mean, it's a great, it's a really good
question.
I say personally, I set thecourse by uh knowing that I
don't know everything.
Oh, that's great.
I I I work with executivecoaching as well, and I and I
feel like it's a really strong,yeah, and I feel like it's a
really strong um message to tosend out is that um there's
nothing wrong with executivecoaching.
And I think if if anything, it'sa it's a really huge asset uh
(20:57):
and has worked well for me.
Um, I would say um it's not justa few deciding for the many.
One of the things that I triedto do as uh the vice president
leading our strategic planningcommittee was bring contrarian
voices to the table.
That's cool.
Those that maybe don't have thesame outlook or same opinion or
(21:19):
same customer base as some ofus, and really understanding
where their issues are.
It doesn't mean that it's goingto dictate the entire plan.
Um, but that was really crucialin setting our new strategic
initiatives.
It was really all about gettingas many, not all contrarian
voices, but getting as manyvarying voices to the table.
(21:41):
The diversity of membership isour strength.
And tapping into that, just likediversity of your offices or
your companies, that's whereyour strength lies.
Right.
I can tell you every day, youknow, but until you see it,
right?
Where my father and I are, youknow, we're not, we're not,
we're not the important.
Important ones.
It's the hundred people outthere that make this machine go.
(22:05):
And I think that's what wetapped into at the club in
recent years, is we've got areally big machine.
And there's all these people andall these different members.
And once we started to tap intowhat their opinions were and
what their feedback was, we gotto make a really, really great
strategic plan filled withpillars that mattered to
(22:27):
everybody and arguablyquantified the value of their
membership.
SPEAKER_03 (22:31):
Yeah.
Man, it's it could be scarythough.
Uh I I appreciate that you're sowilling to bring in um
incontrarian views and andthat's you know, more power to
you.
A lot of people are are loath tobecause um I think that they
sometimes mistake um d you knowthe devil's advocate kind of
aspect and they they conflate itwith just impeding progress.
(22:56):
And I think that you know, oh,if everybody is in alignment,
then we'll get so much moredone.
But then I do kind of think,yeah, you're you're onto
something where it's like if youbring in like um a different
perspective, suddenly you're nothopefully you're not missing
anything.
Uh that's you know a lot ofcredit.
SPEAKER_01 (23:12):
Yeah, and it's all and it's also I think it's not
just about missing something, Ithink it's also can you change
my mind a little bit?
You know, we're open to changingyour mind is is that's a great
sign of a leader.
I think that's a leadershipquality.
I agree.
Uh, can't say I've always beenopen to changing my mind.
Sometimes I have my sight set onsomething, and yes, I'm sure we
(23:33):
can all be that way.
Um, but if I can be convincedotherwise, I want to be because
nobody has a monopoly on goodideas.
SPEAKER_03 (23:43):
Wow, that's really wow, what a line.
Love that.
Yeah, especially, you know,those the businesses in the plum
club, like, yes, a lot of timesit's all you know, it's all
jewelry, but at the same time,uh I'm assuming the perspective
on some of these things isprobably different when it comes
to someone who does um charmsversus someone who does
(24:03):
diamonds.
I can only imagine.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
We're packaging, right?
We have packaging and andservices.
You know, uh GSI is a member andthey're a laboratory and not
dealing with necessarily thesame things that the jewelry or
diamond manufacturer is workingwith.
Um it is again so cruciallyimportant to have people from
(24:27):
all of those organizations atthe table having the discussion.
Um unfortunately, does can doesevery member contribute as much
as I would hope?
And and that, and should I besaying that?
Yeah, probably not.
But you know what?
I hope one of them hears thisand says, wow, I gotta get more
involved.
We have such a robust amount ofmembers that are involved on a
(24:49):
day-to-day basis that volunteertheir time.
Remember, people don't get paidfor this, right?
They're really volunteeringtheir time, their thoughts,
their energy into makingsomething bigger than themselves
better.
And I call me uh a hopelessromantic, but I think that
there's something really specialabout that.
We are an industry of magic, of,of memories, of gifting, of
(25:12):
love, of whatever kind ofadjective you want to throw into
it.
There's so much excitementaround what we do.
And the more people that gettogether with that energy, that
positivity, the more change thatwe can bring about.
And I know that sounds a littlecliche and maybe a little naive
(25:32):
in in some ways, but I wouldtell you um, I had this
conversation, and and I'm Ithink I can plug this uh um uh
and and take his his quote here.
Uh it's actually his father'squote, I believe.
I I was with um JK, the CEO ofSignet um at the JCK show, and
we were talking a little bitabout leadership um and talking
(25:54):
about uh positivity and bringingthat.
And uh he he he said, K I P A,uh I think it was K I P A.
Keep it positive always.
And I believe he was he wasquoting his father, and I
really, really resonated withthat.
And I think that is what theclub is trying to do.
Keep that positivity rollinginto the next generation, into
(26:18):
the innovation, into the entireindustry, and keep that
momentum, right?
We don't want to go backwards,we only want to go forwards.
And our industry is plaguedwith, you know, we were$90
billion 10 years ago and we're$90 billion today.
SPEAKER_03 (26:36):
No, I I just think that you're totally onto it.
It's like I do not think thatpositivity has ever hurt
anything.
I don't think, I mean, uh maybeif you're like hopelessly
optimistic and you're not takingstock of of your surroundings,
but I just think that positivityis like the the wind beneath
your sails, you know, it's likeyou're gonna be rowing, but I do
(26:59):
find that having a positivemindset makes uh you more
clear-headed and and morewilling to um take calculated
risks as well.
And when you're positive, you'remore likely to believe that
you're going to succeed as abyproduct of that.
And hearing that that is uh likekind of like a core principle of
(27:20):
your mindset, I definitely wouldagree.
That's uh that's a great one.
SPEAKER_01 (27:25):
Thank you.
And you know, it's uh I wish Ihad a crystal ball to tell you
what the future uh the futureholds.
I think for the Plum Club andour future, it is bright.
We we hope that your listenersare gonna see a lot more of us,
um, not just at the JCK show,but year-round.
And we hope that ourcommitments, especially to
(27:49):
responsible sourcing, are adriving force into wanting to,
you know, wanting moreindividuals to become members,
you know, and and really wantingother companies out there to
join something a little bitbigger than just themselves.
SPEAKER_03 (28:06):
So at the same time, I I guess that that kind of
brings up a good point.
Um so year-round, we obviouslyknow you guys from JCK and you
guys do this um this researchproject, which I would love to
hear more about.
Um what other um kind of thingsare the the poem club working
on?
Uh it sounds like you have theleverage, you have the the
(28:28):
minds.
Um what do you guys uh kind offocus on uh other than the the
five days of Vegas?
SPEAKER_01 (28:35):
Yeah, so we are in the midst, as as I as I uh kind
of alluded to, of uh ushering ina new strategy.
So I can't go into extreme,extreme detail.
What I would say is we'relooking to educate.
We're looking to educate ourmembers, we're looking to
educate retailers, whetherthat's through the Jewelers
Resource Center, whether that'sthrough symposiums that we've
(28:57):
put on in the past, whetherthat's through, you know,
building our own classes orsomething for our retail
partners.
That's that's kind of one majorpillar, right?
We're also looking to um havepolitical involvement, which is
a little bit of what I talked toyou about with the JA, getting
more involved from a legalstandpoint with JA and the JVC,
(29:21):
and understanding what are ourlegal options in order to battle
tariffs and things of thatnature.
Right.
And then we're trying tocommunicate out there.
We're trying to communicate ourcommitment to responsible
sourcing.
We're trying to push others toadvocate not just for
responsible sourcing, but showaction of responsible sourcing.
(29:45):
All the cool kids are doing it.
Yeah, right?
Communicating that out there andmaking sure and hopefully having
that rub off on otherorganizations so that we can
foster this hopefully largergroup of not just the plum club,
but an entire industry committedto responsible and sustainable
sourcing.
SPEAKER_03 (30:04):
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (30:04):
And lastly, I would say when it comes to innovation,
um, I don't know if itinnovation necessarily means
innovative product.
I think it can.
Yeah.
I don't know if it necessarilymeans innovation in a technology
world.
It certainly can.
I think the way we look atinnovation year-round is how do
we make the industry better?
(30:26):
Nice.
And how do we make things betterfor our members and our retail
partners?
And sometimes innovating couldbe something as small as giving
them a place, a quiet place atthe at the end of the show, this
to get a nice espresso and havea beat, you know.
And the other time it may be,you know, pulling those
(30:47):
customers or the consumerstogether, finding out what
they're looking for and sharingthat information and those trend
reports with the retailer.
Or it could be something assimple as during COVID
partnering up with techsuppliers to make sure that when
we couldn't travel, we hadvirtual catalogs that could go
back and forth, right?
(31:09):
Being at the forefront ofsetting the tone for the
industry, that's what we want todo 365 days around.
SPEAKER_03 (31:15):
It's what a nice kind of again, I appreciate your
mindset on these kinds of thingsbecause I find sometimes the I
oscillate between thinking toobig and too small.
And to hear that you're thinkingin them in the full spectrum,
like you said, on the one hand,lobbying to improve the jewelry
industry's standing in inpolitics and like making and
(31:38):
trying to like protect thejewelers at large.
And then on the other hand, justa quiet putting together a nice,
quiet spot for some jewelers tohave a good cup of espresso and
maybe like get away from thesuper bright lights of that
room.
Oh my gosh.
But those are both, like yousaid, uh, innovation.
And both of them are betteringthe jewelry industry, whether
(32:01):
it's for a minute or for anothergeneration.
I kind of love that.
I think that that kind of showsthe full spectrum of what
innovation can be.
It doesn't always have to be abetter mousetrap.
It can be uh yeah, it can be assimple as a cup of coffee.
It's as simple as a cup ofcoffee.
SPEAKER_01 (32:18):
Wow, what a great line.
I love that.
No, it's I'm glad that you areexcited by it.
And and I and I reallyappreciate what you guys do with
the In the Loop podcast becauseyou know, I've gotten a chance
to listen to some really greatpeople and just hear so much
excitement around this business.
I fell into I didn't although myfather, you know, was in it, I I
(32:39):
didn't start in the jewelryindustry.
You didn't.
I was 20, I did not.
I I I was 25, and my father saidit's kind of now or never.
And I thought this was going tobe a one-year stopping ground
for me.
And 10 years later, I haven'tlooked back because it's it's
completely, you know, capturedme, this industry, the people in
it, yeah, the things that wesell, the the dreams that we
(33:03):
sell, and the overallcamaraderie of our small but big
world is so uplifting anddriving that I can't imagine
being in another industry.
And I've had the real pleasureof being able to talk to others
that have such a great view ofthe jewelry and and diamond
(33:24):
business.
SPEAKER_03 (33:25):
Uh, what I couldn't have said it better.
I find the people of the jewelryindustry, like I always say
jewelers, but that can sometimesexclude some people.
But like just the folks that arehere, what I find so exciting is
they still they still love it.
They still love the jewelry andthey still love talking about
it.
And you know, in insurance salesor something like that.
(33:48):
I'm sure that when you go tothose meetings, I'm sure that
they probably don't want to talkabout more about insurance sales
or whatever it's gonna be.
Uh, but when you go out, likethe mingling of um personal life
and like, hey, how you doing?
Like what's been new since thelast show, but also just like
talking about exciting stuffabout jewelry.
(34:09):
What I've learned is thatjewelers love talking about
jewelry, and that is such a kindof a very comforting thing to
hear because we're not all init.
I mean, for the money.
I mean, that's part of it.
But at the same time, hearingthat people still love it and
they love bringing peopletogether and having these
helping uh disperse theseartifacts that are symbols of
(34:30):
love, I just find that very umuh I don't know, comforting,
kind of nice to hear.
SPEAKER_01 (34:36):
I I couldn't agree more.
I I will um I will uh tell youuh a quick little story.
If do we have a minute?
Yeah, absolutely.
And I I've equated this to likeone of the best moments is I
unfortunately I got hacked.
My bank account got compromisedabout a couple of weeks ago.
(34:57):
And I, of course, you got todeal with all the canceling of
the cards and everything, and Ihad to cancel my actual checking
account and I had to go inperson to do it.
And so I'm sitting at the bankand I'm looking down, and the
teller that's helping me,awesome guy, is wearing a
diamond men's channel band.
And I just I'm looking at it andI just know I know I'm not the
one sitting at a bench oranything, but I just I know our
(35:19):
product, I know, and I said,excuse me, sir, do you mind uh
if I ask you where you got yourlink?
And he said, My wife and Ibought it at Zale's.
I don't, I'm not trying to be uhnot rude, but I I'm not trying
to like stray away from whatwe're doing.
But would you mind taking itoff?
(35:39):
Can I see the inscriptioninside?
And he took it off, and sureenough, was the gold star
standing on it.
That's sick.
I was ecstatic that whole day.
Yeah.
Estatic.
That's gotta be like a musician.
Yeah, you know, that's gotta belike a musician walking down the
street and hearing somebodylistening to their song loud in
(36:00):
their headphones.
SPEAKER_03 (36:01):
Yeah, so cool.
SPEAKER_01 (36:02):
And to me, that was the epitome of why I do this.
SPEAKER_03 (36:06):
Wow, what a really neat.
I love hearing that kind ofstuff.
Uh, hearing about people like umjust appreciating jewelry or
like appreciating like the thestories behind stuff, you know,
even if it's like that theydidn't they weren't the ones
that made it, but like havingthat personal connection, um
yeah, that's really what a coolstory.
(36:28):
Uh man, in the middle of a reallow of your of your year, having
that and that it makes your day,that's great.
SPEAKER_01 (36:34):
It doesn't all have to be the dollars and cents of
it all.
And don't get me wrong, a lot ofit is, a lot of it is, and and
we run businesses and supplychains that are very, very
difficult and staffs that are,you know, all encompassing, and
nobody's got all the answers,you know, and jewelry can go
wrong.
Better than you're dealing inrocks and metal.
(36:55):
Jewelry can totally go wrong,and it can always turn the other
way on you.
But um, I think as long as wekeep talking about it, as long
as we keep trying to make thingsbetter, and as long as we
understand that there is enoughbusiness to go around for all of
us, so it's better to work as ateam rather than as foes.
(37:17):
And that I would tell you is thebiggest value that the plum club
has.
SPEAKER_03 (37:25):
What a what a poignant, you know what?
I would love to leave it rightthere, Steven.
That's so great to hear.
If people are interested in inlearning more about the plum
club, maybe checking out uh yourguys' fantastic podcast, um,
where would they go?
SPEAKER_01 (37:39):
So you can go to the plumclub.com and on there there
are ways to contact us.
Um, there are um open spots, asI said, for people to apply and
and and become members.
Um, I would also make myselfavailable at any time.
Um, I can be reached um byemail.
(37:59):
Um on the website, you can findmy email if you go to Gold Star.
Uh, it's pretty easy to find.
Um, and I welcome questions,input, anything, uh, or just
people looking to get in touchand learn more.
Um, so plumclub.com.
SPEAKER_03 (38:14):
Fantastic.
Steven, I really enjoyed this.
Super cool to hear.
And uh I'm so encouraged when Iwhen I learn about the the next
generation stepping in forleadership roles um in any
industry.
I think it's very important.
It's something that is very uhnear and dear to my heart, um,
just on a personal level, evenat my own in my own town.
I I love seeing when uh the nextgeneration doesn't step up,
(38:36):
traditions unfortunately end.
And I find that uh you guys havesomething really exciting going
on.
Um, I love getting a chance tostop by uh in JCK, and it's like
going to like a carnival andgetting to see all the cool new
stuff.
So um hearing that you guys arefocused on the betterment of the
of the industry is just reallyencouraging.
So um, thank you again forjoining me.
(38:57):
Thank you, Michael.
It was a real pleasure.
All right.
Thanks everybody.
We'll be back next week,Tuesday, with another episode.
Cheers.
Bye.
All right, everybody.
That's the end of the show.
Thanks so much for listening.
My guest this week was StevenLurch from the Home Club and
(39:19):
Gold Star.
This episode was brought to youby Punchmark and produced and
hosted by me, Michael Burpo.
This episode was edited by PaulSuarez with music by Ross
Cocker.
Don't forget to rate the podcaston Spotify and Apple Podcasts,
and leave us feedback onpunchmark.com slash loop.
That's L O U P E.
Thanks, and we'll be back nextweek, Tuesday, with another
(39:41):
episode.
Cheers.
Bye.
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