D.C. Taylor Jewellers
411 Bayfield St
Barrie, Ontario L4M A1B
705-725-8062 | phone
705-725-8022 | fax
 Click here to email us
Hours of Operation
| Monday: | 10:00 am - 7:00 pm | | Tuesday: | 10:00 am - 7:00 pm | | Wednesday: | 10:00 am - 7:00 pm | | Thursday: | 10:00 am - 7:00 pm | | Friday: | 10:00 am - 9:00 pm | | Saturday: | 10:00 am - 6:00 pm | | Sunday: | 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm |
|
|
| | | Jeff, John, Paul and Creighton Taylor share equally the responsibility
of running the four D.C. Taylor stores today. Two are located in Owen Sound, the third is in
Collingwood, a ski resort town near Blue Mountain, also on Georgian Bay, where many residents
from the urban areas of southwestern Ontario, mainly Toronto, visit ski chalets and condos in
the winter and cottages in the summer. The fourth and newest location is in Barrie.
Paul Taylor, who studied watchmaking at George Brown College in Toronto, runs the
Collingwood operation, which, because it serves a more upscale clientele, carries merchandise
to reflect that, including watch brands Rolex, Guicci and TAG Heuer. “A lot of the customers
who live here have sold their homes in larger urban centres and retired here,” says Paul.
Creighton, who studied jewellery arts at George Brown College, runs the repair and custom
jewellery department for the stores in Owen Sound. This business includes a large custom
jewellery division that produces an average of 10 pieces a week. “We use Gemvision,” says
Creighton, “but mostly we work with wax carvings, because we like the customers to come in
and try their pieces on.” Jeff, who studied business at George Brown College, handles
merchandising. He is the head jewellery buyer and coordinator. He also has a GIA Graduate
Gemologist diploma, as does John, the youngest, who is also the resident IT guy and
supervises financial and inventory control. They, too, work in Owen Sound. Their mother,
Roma, handles the payroll, as she has done for 50 years. There are 18 full-time and 16 part-
time employees, all of whom are required to earn their Graduate Jeweller’s diploma from the
Canadian Jewellers Association within six month’s of joining the company.
|  |
| The brothers’ various talents and training complement each other, creating an overall talent
pool that provides a better foundation than if one person were trying to be a day-to-day expert
in all areas. Plus, “the great thing about having all four of us is that we can bounce stuff off
each other,” says Creighton. “We never have to make a decision alone; we are all stakeholders,
so we share an interest in making the right decisions. It’s a definite advantage.” John agrees:
“You can get four different perspectives on one issue. You always have someone to go to for a
second, third and fourth opinion. You might not like the opinion, but at least you have the option.
It can help you to look at something in a different way.”
The company’s founder, David Creighton Taylor, was a watchmaker by trade. He started the
business in 1895, establishing what remains today a grounded, small-town, community-minded
jewellery business. His father ran a tailor shop, and an uncle was the editor of the local newspaper.
“Great-grandfather understood that he needed to grow his business by becoming a strong member
of the community,” says John. “He became involved in various sports clubs, supported the arts and
was involved in church life. He established a strong presence in the community, and over time
developed a strong loyal following of customers.” In the evening, the store often stayed open late
so D.C. and his friends could play music together. Family members and friends formed a musical
group called the Bon Tons, and played at parties in their wide-striped suits and straw hats.
“Dad’s ambition was always to be the best jeweller in Grey-Bruce county,” says Paul. “In order to
do that, he followed some of the same principles that his grandfather and father upheld, including a
commitment to good service and delivering a quality product – offering good value for money.
He was willing to take risks on any type of product if he believed in it,” says Jeff. “he even took
a chance on selling Samsonite suitcases in the ’60s, when he saw a trend toward people travelling
more.” |
Creighton credits his father with a knack for remembering people’s names. “Or if he couldn’t
remember the name, he would remember where they came form. In so doing, he made his
customers feel important and welcome. Dad used to bet his kids milkshakes that a particular
customer would be back to buy a diamond ring. We still owe him to this day,” says Jeff. David
Taylor was also one of the first jewellers to create a diamond room. “All the dealers thought he
was crazy,” says Jeff, “but he was ahead of his time. He understood that people want privacy and
discretion when they buy an engagement ring.”
Today, the Taylor boys are also involved in the community, maintaining the tradition of small-town
hospitality, while adopting the modern systems and product lines of what has become a global,
sophisticated, brand-oriented business. They opened a store in nearby Meaford in 1975 and a
Port Elgin store in 1983, but closed both once they discovered that their second Owen Sound
store, in Heritage Mall, drew customers from the entire Grey/Bruce region. The brothers decided
to place their emphasis on the three strong stores. In 2009, the Heritage Mall store, opened in
1987, was relocated to a more high-traffic plaza, with lots of parking.
The Taylors attend five trade shows a year, including JCK Toronto, JCK Las Vegas and buying
group shows. D.C. Taylor has been a member of the Canadian Jewelery Group for over 30
years, which holds one show each year. They also attend two shows a year as members of the
Continental buying Group in the U.S. “We put our emphasis on the suppliers from those groups,
before we look outside,” says Jeff. “The shows are sources for new product, keeping an eye open
for a possible new vendors and the exchange of ideas with our buying group retailers to help our
business grow.”
The stores carry Swarvski, Lladro, Waterford and Royal Doulton giftware, and jewellery brands
Tacori, Simon G. Honora and Canadian diamonds from the Victor mine. “We have been carrying
more 10k gold recently,” says Jeff, “and we’re looking at suppliers who are using lighter weights
without compromising the overall quality, as well as stocking alternative metals, such as silver.
In this economy, the consumer is more jitterey than in the past. We will be focusing on the better
sellers, and cleaning up where we are overstocked.”
David Creighton, the boys’ father, retired from the business in 1992, leaving them to take over.
“Fewer than 3% of family businesses make it to the fourth generation,” observes Jeff, citing a
statistic released by the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise. Between them, the Taylor
brothers have 10 children, aged 3 to 24. Those who are old enough work part-time in the store,
performing odd jobs and gift-wrapping during the holiday season. And so the fifth generation
takes a foothold… (CJ)
|
|
|
