Victoria’s Gold, Inc. – A Story of Growth

    In the late 70’s, Dan and Joey were on a roll and were living in Victoria, Texas. Dan was doing well as an engineer designing oil rigs, and Joey’s new real estate career was taking off. Personally, the Gills were steadily acquiring more and more residential rental properties, and decided to branch out into retail. They opened a tiny ‘Gold by the Gram’ store called simply Victoria’s Gold. All that oil money gravitated to heavy gold nugget jewelry and the Gills opened a second store in the tiny resort town of Rockport on the Texas Gulf coast. It was located in the back of a renovated 50 year old grocery store divided into spaces for nine specialty shops called Austin Street Station.

    Then oil prices plummeted from over $45.00/barrel to just under $20.00 and suddenly the world no longer needed more oil rigs. The manufacturers could no longer support large engineering staffs. The inflation fueled real estate market took a nose dive that lasted for 10 years, and the oilfield money stopped. Gold prices fell, and so did the demand for gold jewelry.

    With Dan out of a job, the gold by the gram business in the red, and heavily mortgaged rental properties sucking the Gills dry, they decided to cut their losses. First to go were the rental properties, many at a significant loss. Then a ‘Going out of Business’ sale was run on the Victoria store followed by a consolidation sale in Rockport. Dan and Joey told each other "We’ll give 110% of ourselves to the Rockport jewelry business for six months" to see if they could make it. They sold the Harley and moved into an efficiency apartment within walking distance from the store. They found that the different demographics in Rockport appreciated a quality jewelry store. By the end of that six months, it was clear that Rockport was the Gill’s new home.

    Within a year, Dan and Joey had leased a vacant adjoining space and created the ‘JoDan Room’ featuring higher end merchandise in a posh setting of natural woods and antiques. Another year passed and another adjoining space was leased. This time an art gallery and gift shop named Tejas was created to showcase sporting art and all things Texans brag about. The next two years would see Tejas moved to the front of Austin Street Station and the construction of a brand new Victoria’s Gold & Gem as the anchor tenant in the center front of Austin Street Station. In 1995 it became Déjà vu again as Dan and Joey leased the newly vacated space next to them and opened Moby Dan’s – The store for the nautically obsessed.

    In 1998, a building that Dan had had his eye on for many years became available. Originally built by the investors in old United Savings, this imposing structure at the corner of Main and Austin had seen five financial institutions come and go and was now on the market for sale. After months of intense negotiations Dan and Joey closed the deal in March of that year. Remodeling started immediately with the gutting of the main room. Three months later saw the grand reopening of Victoria’s Gold & Gems in Dan’s dream location.

     As Dan worked to perfect the physical facility, Joey worked to perfect the product mix and inventory. Their new slogan – "World Class Diamonds, South Texas Charm" demanded the world’s finest diamonds. After months of negotiations, and competition with prominent Corpus Christi stores, Victoria’s Gold landed the  Hearts on Fire brand of diamonds with a five county exclusive. Purchases of Russian diamonds and strong arrangements with suppliers of fancy shapes cemented the store’s position as being the premier source of World Class diamonds.

    Efforts now turned to development of business systems, establishment of trade credentials, and development of personnel. Dan and Joey have always been very open minded when it came to new ideas and ways to better themselves and their business. Attending at least two major trade shows each year was always on their agenda. They knew that these trade shows not only showcased the latest styles and trends in merchandise, but that the wide variety of seminars, discussion groups, and demonstrations provided a wealth of information that would be extremely helpful in furthering their business and personal lives. They quickly found these educational opportunities and networking with other jewelers were the most important reasons for attending trade shows.

    Weekly sales meetings and training sessions have always been an important part of Victoria’s Gold, and the Gills soon began a series of in house training sessions for themselves and their staff put on by nationally renowned trainers such as Shane Decker, Kate Peterson, Maarten de Witte, and Janice Mack-Talcott. These were supplemented with other professionals to round out an ongoing training and motivational program for the entire staff.