b'KATHY COREYA look inside the Days Jewelers store in Nashua, New Hampshire. One of Kathy Coreys primary roles was vice president of merchandising.of jewelry stores, she says. We didnt want to see the Days legacy go away.To make it happen, the pair partnered with Jeffs brother, Jim Corey, and a busi-ness partner, Mark Ford.We bought the Days Corporation and set on a mission to build a company that would stand the test of time, she says.As for Jeffreys Fine Jewelers, it became a Days Jewelers.EXPANSION BEGINSWith an expansion came new challenges.With one store, we were the jack of all trades. Everybody did everything,The Days Jewelers in Augusta, Maine. The chain has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Maine more than half a dozen times.Kathy says.She oversaw marketing in the early days andwere executed according to our Days standards, slowly got involved in buying jewelry. Im kind ofshe says.As the business expanded, there was a need fora dreamerThere were a lot of moving parts, and Kathy more defined roles. and Jeff had to decide who was going to handle the Her two primary positions over the years wereand [Kathy]various tasks.vice president of personnel and then vice presidentAs we opened new locations, we both agreed of merchandising. is more of athat in order to fulfill our mission to build a compa-She oversaw employee benefits, training, andpragmatistny that stands the test of time, we had to develop satisfaction, along with any other human resources-an infrastructure that would allow us to grow to related functions. Her nursing background wasand together100 stores if we wanted to, she says.particularly helpful in this role, she recalls. weve beenWe started writing protocols and procedures Her job as vice president of merchandising tookfor everything we did within our four walls that most of her time though, she says, as she had toable to accom- represented best practices and the highest level of oversee a team of buyers as well as inventory andplish a lot. standards for our employees from a training perspec-operations. tive, and for our customers from an experiential My role was more strategic in terms of, Where Jeff Corey,perspective.are we going with merchandise? and making sureDays Jewelers The retailers training protocols are extensive, that all the nuts and bolts behind merchandisingsays Kathy, and they continue to develop.Continued on page 2724 RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2025'