News--"Choice Group To Attend Industry Events"

       Following the success from the strategic introductions and sourcing alliances forged at last year's Luxury, Signature Salon, and JCK Showcase, Choice Group International announced late last week that they once again plan to surpass industry expectations by taking full advantage of the invitation-only events held in Las Vegas. Choice CEO Eric Ehrhardt shared that "this year, our Executive Staff will be extraordinarily busy dividing their time between Luxury, Salon, and JCK taking care of our core business while trying to locate specific new opportunities we have in our sights. I personally think that this year there will be more importance placed on how well we accomplish our goals and add to our portfolio, and how that is going to define our performance for the remainder of the year, despite the economic trends that seemingly confine our peers with confusion and directionless distraction."
       When asked why Choice maintains this perspective he replied, "We have always chosen to be self-defining and not limited by the tradtional mind-set or misunderstandings that have been so detrimental to real growth in this industry. I have always tried to lead not with just vision, but with a detailed plan that can be communicated, duplicated, and therefore is truly attainable simply by focusing on the important issues without being distracted by the influences that are so transparent when you keep your face to the future. Take these industry events, for instance. Over the years they have grown so huge that even the independent jeweler is not only compelled to attend due to suppliers getting fewer and larger and pulling salesmen off the road, but face some hard choices when he actually gets here in selecting those to work with based on how he can map out his circuit on the floor! Why? This is just another indication that our industry is trying to run this year's race using yesteryear's horse and buggy. Choice will be here for only four days, and I know we will accomplish fives times as much in all that we do because we are an effective team that stays on target and is able to use our prestige to open select doors rather than spend time flaunting it in front of our peers. We build our reputation on what we do, not so much our style, although that has earned us a lot of respect as well. We have all committed the hours each day to work really well, and we look forward our time poolside too. We enjoy ourselves and what we are doing, and I remind them (pun intended) that it is always our Choice!"
       It has been only a few years since Ehrhardt has taken Choice Group to buying his diamonds from sightholders and partnering with select manufacturers with his popular contests and giveaways, but already many vendors have formed a que to reserve their place within in his marketing plans. Apparently word has spread that Ehrhardt has the winning marketing techniques, having proven results, and that they are not dependent on the internet. Recently, Ehrhardt was forced to shift Choice online commerce sites to significantly higher capacity host servers, and much of his earlier successes were interrupted due to inexplicable major loss of content and function. Choice Group sites almost evaporated after rising rapidly as consumer favorites. "It will all be back up for this Christmas season," he assured us, "and will be updated with all the bells and whistles we had been delaying. Actually, this disaster allows us to implement a greater vision sooner, and is a great object lesson for my team on how to seize the opportunity to excel rather than become paralyzed by despair. I have complete confidence in everyone at Choice and will do everything I can to support them, and in turn their performance levels are still the envy of the industry." We will be keeping a keen eye on his picks this year to Spot the Hot long before everyone else catches on.

¤ eJewel Magazine, "Hot-Spot" Feature, May 2006