Our Heritage...

A diamond in the rough: That's what Fred Meyer took on in 1973 when the company opened four catalog retail stores in the Pacific Northwest. Although the catalog stores fell by the wayside, their fine jewelry departments showed bright promise. And through savvy buying, regional expansion, and innovative leadership, Fred Meyer has made them shine.

Successful stores and jewelry depart-ments in 18 states make Fred Meyer the number four jewelry company in the United States

Fred Meyer maintains a broad and diverse presence in the jewelry indus-try. In high-traffic malls from the West Coast to the East, 157 stores operate under the names Fred Meyer, Merksamer, and Fox's Jewelers. Inside Fred Meyer multi-department stores, which consumers trust for a variety of shopping needs, 102 jewelry depart-ments hold prominent positions.

Fred Meyer designs and stocks its jewelry stores with an emphasis on quality. The buying power and financial strength of Fred Meyer, Inc. enables the subsidiary to differentiate its jewelry operations with an upscale look and a deep inventory of the products customers want, at prices better than those of most competitors.

"Our strategy is to buy the best brands and to make sure they are always avail-able to our customers," says President Ed Dayoob. "We want to be every customer's jeweler-for-life." This strategy has proven particularly successful in the category of watches, where Fred Meyer offers brand names that bring customers into the store.

Bridal jewelry also plays a central role in Fred Meyer's competitive strategy. "Despite shifts in the economy, people are always getting married," says Dayoob. "If we can sell a couple a bridal set they love, we're in a strong position to win their business again and again."

A Track Record for Growth

In 1997 Fred Meyer acquired Fox's Jewelers, a 44-unit chain of mall-based specialty stores serving six Midwestern states. The acquisition expands Fred Meyer's scope and scale, enabling the company to leverage its buying and advertising power in new markets. Aligning these new stores with Fred Meyer standards, the company has improved their merchandising, broadened their bridal offerings, and intensified their customer service focus.

Fred Meyer aims to continue the profitable growth of its jewelry operations. Emphasis in 1998 will be on maximizing existing advantages."Our goal now is to continue growing profits by focusing on the basics: refining our inventory, keep-ing our costs down, leveraging our marketing and advertising power, and investing in our employees," says Dayoob.

Ed Dayoob, president for Fred Meyer's jewelry operations, has 40 years of industry experience-25 of them invested in growing the Fred Meyer franchise. The expertise of Dayoob and others on his team-merchandisers, buyers, and operations staff-sets the company apart in its industry. "This is a people business, and your success in it depends on your ability to attract and keep people who know and love the business," says Dayoob.