b'SPECIAL FEATURERETAIL LESSONSMark and Candy met as students at the University of Miami in the early 1970s; he was studying business, she, marketing and communications. On Saturdays and Sundays, Mark worked at the May-ors store in Dadeland, Florida. At that time, the Getz family still owned Mayors, and Dadeland was a rural community. Yet the store carried brands like Rolex, Cartier, and Patek Philippe and, more importantly, it sold them to a wide variety of customers, opening Marks eyes to the possibilities for his familys jewelry store. He tells it like this: It was a really good education because in the store they carried Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, and I would watch what was going on there.Candy and Mark (center) joined Fran and Mayer at London Jewelers in 1973.It was farm country, Dadeland, near Miami, and there were cowboys, farmers, coming in and buying this stuff like crazy, in 1971, 72. It was crazy.Initially, she had little interest in working at London Jewelers, but He took copious notes on the things he thought Mayors wasMark eventually talked her into giving it a try. She went to work at the doing right. All the while, astore one day, and then I vision began taking shapenever left, she said. in his mind for his familysAt that time, London own business. Jewelers was a single-store If they could sell productindependent, one of six in like this in Dadeland, Flor- the town of Glen Cove. The ida, why couldnt Londonstore sold custom jewelry and Jewelers do the same ongiftware along with Accutron, the wealthy North Shore ofBulova, and Seiko watches.Long Island? In those early days, Mayer Mark and Candy marriedand Fran limited Candys re-in 1973, the same year Marksponsibilities to polishing silver graduated from the Univer- and cleaning shelves, as they felt sity of Miami.she needed to learn the business. He returned to LondonShe also was deployed as a Jewelers. Candy also camesecret shopper, of sorts. north, transferring to HofstraI remember Marks moth-University to finish the finalMark and Candy in the store, circa 1974, with Mayer in the background. Though Candys duties initiallyer used to send me out to go were limited, she turned out to have an innate talent for merchandising.year of her marketing degree. look at the other stores to see if they had people in them, if they were doing business. I was like the spy going up and down the street, Candy laughs. Mark, meanwhile, was a young man on a mission. As soon as he returned from Florida, he began what would become a two-year quest to convince Rolex to open an account with London Jewelers. The watch brand was a tough get. Even back then, Rolex wanted to know what other brands a jeweler carried before it would consider opening an account.Mark says he called Rolexs local sales rep nonstop for two years until he finally agreed to come to the store.He came out to see me and he said, Listen, you do not stop calling me. You are so persistent. He goes, Im going to open you up because of that. To start selling Rolex, London Jewelers had to buy, up front, a package of 45 watches that included all-steel and steel and gold watches, as well as two all-gold watches, one Mark and Candy celebrated two major milestones in 1980the birth of their first child, daughtermens and one womens. Randi, and the opening of London Jewelers second store, in Wheatley Plaza.NATIONAL JEWELER 47'