Lux Bond & Green

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That LB&G has grown to nine stores owes a debt of thanks to progenitor Morris Green, who at the end of the 19th-century made a living fixing eyeglasses and watches from a cart he pushed up and down the street. The prescient Green fatigued of rolling his business around on wheels, so he opened his own Waterbury store named for himself, M.A. Green, in 1898. Of Green's seven sons, five followed him into business, while another son, Irving, sought his own fortune by purchasing the 25-year-old Hartford jewelers Lux Bond and Lux (not quite the same ring, eh?)

Here's where it gets a little tricky. The Green enterprise, M.A. Green, and Lux Bond & Lux – which was renamed Lux Bond & Green – remained separate competing entities. There was no family feud afoot, in fact the stores helped each other, but there remained two retailing Green factions. Then, in 1963, the 60-year-old tabletop retailer P.H. Stevens Co. was acquired by LB&G, adding tabletop collections to the burgeoning jewelry assortments. P.H. Stevens (as it remained known) operated directly across the street from LB&G for years. (Have we lost you yet?) Finally, in 1968, all the businesses merged, resulting in an operation called Lux Bond Green & Stevens, which doesn't flow trippingly across the tongue so, in 1986, Stevens was dropped for the final eponym Lux Bond & Green. What always remained constant was LB&G's rep as a fine carriage trade enterprise furnishing the homes of central Connecticut's Junior Leaguers and Young Republicans.

Today, the store is guided by the Green family, Robert (chairman), Marc (vice chairman), and John (president). Under this aegis, the stores have grown from three mom-and-pop outposts to nine full-service locations. Notes John Green, "Our goals have been the same since 1898. To service the customer while offering an experience enriched by tradition." There is, he adds, no major secret to the stores' success. "We take chances," he says. "It's my family's name on the door and we want all of our customers to walk out saying, 'That place is great'." Green and family have remained loyal to the store's history: there has been no Green scandal or family tempest; growth has been organic, not rushed or inappropriate. In 1992, the original Waterbury store closed because of a deteriorating downtown, but the same year a new branch opened in posh Greenwich. In 1999, the first LB&G outside Connecticut opened in Boston. In 2004, two more stores launched, in Wellesley and South Windsor. The stores are strategically located; the greatest distance is the four hours between the Greenwich and Boston branches.

The community has welcomed LB&G because LB&G has welcomed the community. The Greens are especially civic-minded. When they move into a community it's done with an eye toward helping the neighborhood. For 15 years, LB&G has run a charity golf tournament which has raised more than $300,000, a local children's hospital has been the recipient of this largesse. "We think this is part of the reason we've been successful," Marc Green contends. "We do the right thing, we take care of our employees [of which there are 150], and we serve the community." Further, and particularly delightful, these folks aren't afraid to get political, to speak up and speak out. "The jewelry industry has so much opportunity to work together," says Sheryl Green. "We sit on panels and boards and exchange information. In tabletop, though, we don't have any of that and it shows. There's no community or exchange of information. It's so important to network and share information that helps relationships between retailers and vendors. It's time we get united to get information out to the public about the beauty of our product and to give people a better understanding of why tabletop is important."

[Editor's note: To that end and based on Sheryl Green's suggestions a first-ever symposium chaired by Tableware Today will bring together a select group of independents and vendors during the spring.]

The Greens are not above putting in the time to make their business successful. They visit an inordinate number of trade shows, have visited numerous factories, host their own trunk shows and artist appearances, and pore through trade journals in a continual effort to get their homework done and done well. "These are musts for us," declares Marc Green. "Trust me, it's not my life's desire to visit every trade show but we do it. We read magazines like yours. It's how we learn."

While tabletop remains a small generator of LB&G's volume, it plays a disproportionately large role of importance. "Tabletop is always," Sheryl Green understates, "a challenge." On the positive side of the equation, LB&G's bridal business is on the upswing, 20%, partly because there are fewer tabletop independents servicing the region's brides. Four of the LB&G stores have full registry access, but every store is equipped to handle registries and guests. This more contemporary bridal couple where the groom has an equal voice generates, on average, $10,000. With up to 200 annual registries that's a hefty return. Still, Green says, "We've been more aggressive getting this business." LB&G spends substantial dollars across New England in advertising its bridal registry. (The off-record figure is a percentage of yearly sales.) "We advertise in many markets to cover the areas of all of our stores," says Sheryl Green. That includes newspapers, local and national magazines, billboards, TV, radio and the store's own Accent magazine, as first-class as any newsstand title.

With hundreds of dinnerware, crystal, and flatware patterns, LB&G pulls all stops servicing the bride. "One of my biggest challenges," Green says, "is keeping on top of what the customer is looking for and educating her about tabletop. There's a lot of good product out there. How do you keep coming out with fresh and new things to attract younger customers?" she asks. "Personally, I'd prefer fewer new launches. There's too much merchandise available, too much to sort through, and too many choices for consumers. I'm a firm believer in generating my dollars with a tighter mix of product and fewer SKUs." Strong tabletop vendors include Waterford, Herend, Jay Strongwater, Steuben, Bernardaud, and Raynaud. "If somebody's willing to go the extra step with me," she says, "I'm willing to go the extra step with them. It's a two-way street."

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