b'JEFFREY ZIMMEReventually developed his own way ofweight; theres no rounding up or down. doing things.Its harder to manage it on the inven-Under his leadership, Reeds Jewelerstory sidebut thats very, very import-moved out of malls entirely and, as partant to him, Weyand says.of a wider vision for more vertical inte- Itd be way easier to switch out of that gration, brought all of its manufacturingformat, but he will never do it. He wants in-house in 2021.everyone to know exactly what theyre get-Currently, the retailer is relocatingting with every piece of jewelry they buy. one of its smaller locations in Syracuse,When Weyand, a longtime family set to open later this year, and renovatingfriend, first started working at the store, the flagship store in Buffalo. That up- she had just returned to Buffalo after grade is set to be completed by late 2026.a stint in California. Jeffs wife Robyn No matter how big the project,Zimmer asked if shed like to help out in whenever the going gets tough, Jeff andthe store for the holidays.his team lean on the philosophy of theShe stayed on part-time after Christ-generations before themalways do themas, and when a position opened in the right thing.buying office, she took it. It was new to her, but Jeff guided her FAIR PLAYat every step. One of Jeffs constants is his belief inBecause I was a finance major, I was fairness.Jeff at the companys manufacturing facility, which opened in 2021.in a totally different line of work. Jeff re-He has a passion for the business andHe had made it a goal to bring Reeds manufacturing in-house duringally taught me the business from ground what we do, and his overarching theme,his tenure. zero, she says. which was his fathers and his grandfa- Everything Ive learned about the thers, is to do the right thing for theHis overarching theme,jewelry businessnegotiation skills customer every time, says Chief Opera- and how to foster vendor relationships tions Officer Kristine Weyand, who haswhich was his fathersthat are healthy and productive for both been with Reeds for about 30 years.and his grandfathers, issides without being abusive on either We want to give them a verysideJeff Zimmer is a master at that. high-quality piece of jewelry for a veryto do the right thing forShes accompanied him on buying fair price, and thats always been some- the customer every time.trips to India, Thailand, Switzerland, and thing that weve strived to do.Hong Kong, and sat in on the meetings. The right way isnt always the easy way. Kristine Weyand, Reeds Jewelers Whether he was meeting with the At Reeds, every piece of jewelry ishead of Honora and we were going to a priced according to the exact gemstoneContinued on page 37The interior of Reeds Jewelers on Maple Road in Amherst, New York34 RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2025'