In the business of making happiness

In the latest of a series on organisations to achieve success at this year's Taranaki Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, Rob Maetzig profiles Dalgleish Diamond Jewellers, winner of the Retail Award.

CHRIS HILLOCK

Happy couple: Bill Roy and Lynnette Rowan, owners of Dalgleish Diamond Jewellers.

CHRIS HILLOCK

Happy manufacturer: Silversmith and jeweller Colm Brennan at his work bench.

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Down in the middle of New Plymouth's CBD, in a sunny north-facing spot on Devon St, is one of the happiest shops in Taranaki.

It's happy because it is a jewellers shop - and its owners reckon 99 per cent of their customers are buying for a happy occasion.

"It really does make owning the business very enjoyable," says Lynnette Rowan, who with her partner Bill Roy are the proprietors of Dalgleish Diamond Jewellers.

"As manufacturing jewellers we spend a lot of our time making pieces that have been commissioned. And in our retail operation, a large portion of our sales are for a celebration, such as an engagement or a wedding. So our shop is a very happy place to be."

The happiness seems to go both ways too, because Dalgleish Diamond Jewellers boasts staff who have been with the business a lot longer than Bill and Lynnette have owned it.

There's Yvette Prideaux, who has worked there for 14 years, and there's Margaret Murdoch, who has been behind the counter for more than seven years. Between them, and surrounded by beautiful jewellery and watches, they contribute to an atmosphere that is classy, quiet, welcoming - and happy.

Out the back, in the manufacturing jewellery area, there's Irishman Colm Brennan who is a trained silversmith and jeweller, and there's Warren Knill, who joined the firm in 2006 as an apprentice and becomes fully qualified in March next year.

There's also an office administrator and two part-time staff, bringing to nine the total number of people who work at the happy place.

Dalgleish Diamond Jewellers traces its beginnings back to 1919 when Virtue Dalgleish purchased the CH Drew watchmaking, jewellery and opticians business on lower Devon St.

Mr Dalgleish died in 1951, and his son Ian took over the business. In the 1990s it was bought by Gary and Heather Hutchings, who in 1996 moved it to new premises further up Devon St to take advantage of better retail foot traffic near the intersection with Currie St.

At that time the Hutchings stated they intended keeping the Dalgleish name - they reasoned that it was such an established name in the New Plymouth retail scene that it would take a long time for any new business title to build the same level of recognition.

While all that was going on, down in Timaru a young man named Bill Roy completed his training as a manufacturing jeweller before heading north to Palmerston North where he established a workshop and operated for two years.

Then he embarked on the traditional OE, ending up in London, where he worked for Garrards, the oldest jewellery house in the world and home to the Crown Jeweller.

He worked there for six years before heading back to New Zealand where he found employment with the Village Goldsmith, in Wellington. At the same time Bill also set up his own studio, Studio Gem Ltd, in his garage at home.

"Trouble was, he ended up working 40 hours a week downtown and another 40 hours in the studio," said Lynnette. "And we'd started a family by then, so we were very busy."

Then fate intervened. Lynnette hails from New Plymouth, and one weekend the family were enjoying a break in Taranaki when they noticed a small advertisement offering Dalgleish Jewellers for sale.

So they bought the business and moved north for the better lifestyle Taranaki would offer.

When they took possession, the premises was very much a retail area with a small work area at the back, so one of the first changes the couple made was to enlarge the work area so it could be used for Bill's manufacturing jewellery.

Since then Dalgleish Diamond Jewellers - Bill and Lynnette have also decided to retain the well-known name - has gone from strength to strength.

The manufacturing jewellery side of things now comprises 40 per cent of business turnover, with Bill, Colm and Warren busy creating beautiful pieces of jewellery for customers all over New Zealand, particularly Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.

There's still plenty of room up in the retail area, where the ladies are busy displaying and selling a full range of jewellery, crystal and watches.

Bill and Lynnette say the secret to retailing success is quite simple really - it's all about meeting the needs of customers.

"We hope we do well in that regard," says Bill.

"We have a lot of very loyal clients, and we'd like to acknowledge their support. Growing this business has been hard work, and we have been working long hours. But we are finding things very rewarding. We're lucky."

And happy. Which, as the couple say, is what buying jewellery is all about.

- © Fairfax NZ News