James Avery Marketing and Sales Team Add Depth to a 50-Year Tradition
Howell Ridout Promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Development;
Marilyn Price Hired as Vice President of Sales
KERRVILLE, Texas – August 9, 2005 — Chris Avery, president of James Avery Craftsman, a 50-year-old, family-owned jeweler based in the Texas Hill Country, today announced the promotion of Howell Ridout to vice president of marketing and development and the new hire of Marilyn Price as vice president of sales.
Ridout began working with James Avery 30 years ago and has served the company in a variety of positions including lead designer of the company’s retail locations and director of marketing. As vice president of marketing and development, Ridout is responsible for the strategic marketing, branding and national development of retail stores and the company’s catalog and Web site. Ridout will also manage advertising, architectural design, community relations, graphics, market research, product direction and public relations for the company. Prior to this position at James Avery, Ridout was a founding partner of RTG Partners, Inc., Austin, Texas’ third-largest architecture firm and the founder of AGI, a design-build company serving James Avery and other Texas-based clients.
As vice president of sales, Price is responsible for the company’s retail store operations. Prior to working at James Avery, Price was employed for 15 years at Carlton Cards, a subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation, where she was a regional director with operational responsibilities for 110 corporately-owned retail stores in the western United States. At Carlton Cards, she was awarded the honor of “Regional Director of the Year” for four of the 10 years she held the position.
James Avery differs from many other high quality jewelers in that the company designs, creates, markets and sells its own jewelry line from its headquarters in Kerrville and five jewelry workshops located throughout the Texas Hill Country. With 39 stores by year end and annual sales of approximately $85 million, the company employs more than 1,300 people nationally and was ranked as one of the nation’s top 50 jewelers in 2004 by National Jeweler.
"For 50 years we have been satisfying our customers with a commitment to strong design, fine craftsmanship and responsive service,” said James Avery, founder, chairman and chief executive officer. "Howell and Marilyn embody the same attributes that have made James Avery so successful. They are passionate about their profession as well as honest, capable and service-oriented. We are excited to have them continue to build upon our core values.”
About James Avery
James Avery, a family-owned jeweler in the Texas Hill Country, offers high quality, hand-crafted jewelry in sterling silver, white, 14- and 18-karat gold and gemstones. Based in Kerrville, Texas, James Avery maintains 1,100 designs and 14,000 separate combinations of jewelry designs, materials, and sizes in the active product line. Each piece is originated by skilled men and women who hand-craft jewelry in the James Avery design studio on the Kerrville campus. Each is then crafted at one of five hill country workshops. By the end of 2005, James Avery will operate 39 stores in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Colorado. Denver’s recently opened Park Meadows Avery location, which hosted a public Grand Opening event on Thursday, August 4th, is Avery’s latest in a series of completed expansion efforts. Two more locations are slated in McAllen and Garland, Texas before the 2005 holiday season begins. James Avery jewelry is available at retail stores, through mail order and on the internet at www.jamesavery.com.
