There are a few women in the media who have an aura of extra authority about them. One of them is British retail expert Mary Portas, otherwise known as the “Queen of Shops.”

Portas, the founder of retail and brand communication agency Yellowdoor is so well respected in the industry that she has gone from writing a column about shopping to leading an independent government review into the future of the traditional British high street.

In a recent article in the Telegraph Magazine, Portas turned her attention to the high street jewelry chain H Samuel. It wasn’t pretty; in fact, it was a fairly damning condemnation of one Britain’s best-known jewelry chains.

H Samuel is part of Signet Jewelers, the world’s largest specialty retail jeweler. Other companies in the group include Kay Jewelers, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry in the U.S. and Ernest Jones and Leslie Davis in the UK.

There’s no doubt that H Samuel, a company established in Liverpool in 1862, has always had a “down-market” type of feel about it. So much so that in 1991, then CEO Gerald Ratner, in a speech at the Institute of Directors said the company can offer cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray, all for £4.95 "because it's total crap." The comment resulted in millions of pounds being wiped off the company’s share price and in Ratner looking for a new day job.

Despite selling jewelry up to the £3,000 ($4,700) mark, the company’s bargain bin mentality seems to be continuing. In her critique, Portas found fault with nearly every facet of her jewelry shopping experience. The window displays, she said, were cluttered with plastic trays and bombard shoppers with promotional messages. Rather than “yelling” at the consumer, the retailer should “show me the product beautifully and confidently and then blow me away with what good value it all is.”

Inside, she said the store looked as though its carpet came from a “down-at-heel Indian takeaway.” Instead of the locked cabinets all around the perimeter, she advocated that the jewelry shop go the same way as high street fashion shops that sell jewelry from “fun interactive dispensers.”  

In terms of the service, Portas took exception at the amount of time it took for the assistant to lock and unlock the cabinets, each one of which could only be opened using one of 30 identical-looking keys. Worse was to come when Portas requested help finding a necklace for her daughter’s 16^th birthday. “All the necklaces are in the window. If you go outside you’ll be able to see them.” Portas wrote that she did go outside, but she did not go back in. And it’s hardly surprising.

Although Portas thought the company’s website was clean and functional, she criticized the way in which H Samuel marketed its “cash for gold” business, which she called a “murky market,” Online. The company, she said could provide a genuine and transparent value service for its customers. Instead, like the store itself, she felt the quality of the service was lacking.

Her final piece of advice, directed to Signet’s CEO, Mike Barnes, was this: “H Samuel should be a cornerstone of the high street, offering expert, passionate service. It should offer a range that is fashionable for the youth market and of a quality that appeals to the not so young. And it should be well presented and priced for all of them, so that the windows don’t require tacky messaging to bring them in. Why isn’t it doing that?”

Reading Portas’ review, it is not hard to see why while Signet’s U.S. business is doing exceptionally well, its UK business is floundering.

However, it’s not just H Samuel that is in need of help. The jewelry retail world requires a shake up. Many stores have fallen into a rut and they are failing to modernize or attract a younger clientele. Instead of encouraging people to come in store to buy, they are pushing them away even before they walk through the door.

Storeowners and managers should remember that they are competing for their costumers’ attention and good will. As IDEX Online Research analyst Ken Gassman has repeatedly said, if consumers are making only one or two visits to a jewelry store a year, the store has to get it right first time to make sure they return.

Display windows should be appealing and inviting, sales staff knowledgeable and helpful, and attention should be given to small details such as color-coding display case keys – so time is not wasted on your clients looking at you fumbling around. At the end of the day, this will make the difference between a flourishing operation and closed shutters.

I wish you all a very happy – and prosperous - New Year.