Nash Jewellers celebrates golden run to centenary
John C. Nash awoke a sleeping giant, and now Colin Nash is making that giant run.
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John C. Nash awoke a sleeping giant, and now Colin Nash is making that giant run.
Nash Jewellers is celebrating its 100th anniversary Sunday, and four generations of business success which transformed it from a “sleepy” downtown London retailer into a growing icon.
“None of us wanted the store,” said John Nash, 78, from their new location at Oxford Street and Wonderland Road, reflecting back on his history with the family business.
In 1976, his father, John B. (Jack) Nash, wanted to sell the store and Nash, working as a human kinetics professor at the University of Waterloo, made the move.
The younger John Nash gave up stability and a job he loved for what he saw as possible growth.
“I knew what the potential was. My father said, ‘We are pretty sleepy, we need new blood.’ It was a sleeping giant.”
Now, his son Colin Nash, 41, owns the business and sales have grown 30 per cent since they closed its two other locations, in Masonville and downtown on Dundas Street, two years ago.
“The last two years have been beyond imagination. The economy is very good. We are a destination. It has been a successful transition,” he said.
“It’s a totally different store now.”
Colin returned to the store in 2000, at age 22, after graduating from Western University in social sciences and working and skiing in Whistler, B.C.
“He told me, ‘Dad, I really want to try it; I think it’s in my blood,’ ” said the elder Nash.
Father and son share giving up a job and a time in their life they loved, to return to run the family business.
“I loved it. I lived right at the base of Blackcomb. I skied to work every day,” said Colin.
“With a family as tight as we are, it was never a question. I always knew I would come back. I had a fascination with the store and it took me going out there to realize it was more than just a fascination.”
He worked at the Masonville store when he returned.
“It took me only a few months to realize this is what I wanted to do,” said Colin.
This woman's bracelet watch, from about 1918, was sold at the original Nash Jewellers store in downtown London. The watch is on display at the store's location at the corner of Wonderland Road and Oxford Street. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press
Nash Jewellers, at the corner of Wonderland Road and Oxford Street, features photos of the original store on Dundas Street downtown. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press
Nash Jewellers, at the corner of Wonderland Road and Oxford Street, features photos of the original store on Dundas Street downtown.
John A. Nash opened Nash Jewellers in 1918 in London.
Colin Nash is the fourth generation of the Nash family to operate Nash Jewellers in London. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press
John C. Nash was the third generation of the Nash family to operate Nash Jewellers in London.
John B. Nash was the second generation of the Nash family to operate Nash Jewellers in London.
John A. Nash opened Nash Jewellers in 1918 in London.
John Nash and his son Colin Nash are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Nash Jewellers in London. Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press
John Nash stands in extra room above the Dundas Street store for private consultations and custom work. (London Free Press files, 1990)
John Nash believes his grandfather made good design choices when he built the Nash building in 1918 on Dundas Street. (London Free Press files, 1990)
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As for why sales are so strong, “the new store gave us new breath. Some people would not go downtown or to Masonville. Old customers and new both love this store. The brands are doing well,” said Colin.
“We want to keep this going, but we also want to evolve, offer more leading brands. That is the focus right now.”
As for the elder Nash, his strategy when he took over the business in 1976, was to learn as much as he could about gems. He was aggressive in buying other jewelry businesses, the first one in Oakridge Mall, which he ran for four years.
“We got into debt, in a hurry,” said John Nash. “My father backed off, maybe too soon. I made whopping mistakes that should not have happened. They were rookie errors.”
His strategy with his own son was not to make the same error, so Colin would not make “six-figure mistakes like I did,” said John Nash.
It’s rare for a family business to succeed as Nash Jewellers has, even from one generation to another, let alone four generations, and still see significant growth.
“It’s the way we were raised, to be honest,” said Colin. “The philosophy of treating people the way you want to be treated, it runs through our family. We are also all friends.”
The Nash family also managed to check egos, and anger, at critical times, said John Nash.
“We are pretty conservative. There are no raised voices. We all get along very well,” he said.
One son, Bryan, is in sales but the other four brothers – John D., David, Jordan and Adam – aren’t involved in the store, but are all in business.
Nash Jewellers also is lucky that, in each generation, one family member emerged who wanted to buy the business.
“If all six boys wanted it, it would be a different story,” said John Nash. “You can bring kids in, but they have to earn their place.”
Nash Jewellers began in 1918 when John A. Nash borrowed $500 and bought Trebilcock Jewellers, at 206½ Dundas St., and moved to 182 Dundas, the company’s longtime home, in 1920.
“He came from nothing, he had no money,” said Nash.
What he did have was a gift for business and sales. The store windows were “critical” to him, always well stocked, and he would engage in promotions such as buying watches in bulk, and advertising them as graduation gifts, for $5.
“It was his way of promoting things. When the Queen was here for a visit he advertised that ladies had to have their pearls and people were lined up to buy pearls,” said John Nash.
“There was once an accident outside the store and he put an ad in The Free Press saying, ‘Nash accepts the blame. It was a brilliant flash of sun off a perfect diamond that caused it.’ ”
He would wake up at night and write down ideas. They became slogans, such as “It is better to have money on her finger, than have it slip through yours.”
“John A. was a showman. At Christmas, he stayed open until the last customer left.”
Nash also recalled a time when insurance regulations dictated display windows had to be empty when the store was closed. Every night, at 9 p.m., his father, Jack, would go to the store to clear window displays and put jewelry in a vault, even interrupting his weekly card game at the London Club.
“It was something that dissuaded us from being in the business,” said Nash.
As for how the business has changed, he looks no further than his competition. In 1978 there were 32 jewelry stores within 200 yards of Nash Jewellers. By 2015, there were three.
“That’s what happened to downtown,” he said.
The store went from the first generation to the second in 1935, when John A. handed it off to John B. (Jack) Nash. John C. took over in 1976.
As for how it stayed in business through 100 years of economic cycles, Nash credits the company setting itself apart.
During economic downturns, Nash made a point of phasing out lower-cost items and featuring high-end goods.
“We’re a one-price store,” he said, suggesting there are no sales at Nash jewellers.
“Whenever anything negative happened in the market, such as in 1980, we got rid of 10 karat gold, to differentiate ourselves from everyone else. We upped our game. In 1990, same thing: We moved to 18 karat and platinum, a big move for us. We went to a higher quality.”
In 2000, the company opened a second store at Masonville but later closed it. The downtown location was sold in 2016 when the location opened at Oxford and Wonderland.
“We wanted to own our building. We wanted to own a store,” he said.
NASH JEWELLERS
1918: John A. Nash opens Nash Jewellers at 206 Dundas St., moving to 182 Dundas St. in 1920.
1935: John B. Nash takes the store.
1976: John C. Nash takes over.
2000: Masonville store opens.
2010: Colin Nash takes over the business.
2016: New store opens at Oxford Street and Wonderland Road.
2016: Downtown and Masonville stores closed.
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