1ST PLACE
big cool division
DE BOULLE DIAMOND & JEWELRY A SECOND LOCATION MAKES A SPLASH IN THE FOURTH LARGEST CITY
QUICK FACTS LOCATION: Houston, TX URL: deboulle.com OWNERS: Denis and Karen Boulle FOUNDED: 1983 OPENED FEATURED LOCA- TION: 2015 STORE DESIGN: Gensler AREA: 1,800 square feet COST OF BUILDOUT: $2 million EMPLOYEES: Six BRANDS: De Boulle Collec- tion, Patek Philippe, David Webb ONLINE PRESENCE: 12,971 Likes on Facebook; 4.5 Stars on Yelp
DENIS AND KAREN BOULLE’S first priority has always been to make clients feel comfortably at home. At the same time they want to make sure everything they do is associated with exquisite quality, from the fine jewelry and watches they sell to the quality of materials used in the design of their stores. In creating a second home for de Boulle, their Dallas- based business, which was named a Cool Store in 2007, the Boulles had the opportunity to roll out the welcome mat for Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S. While the de Boulle Diamond & Jewelry Patek Philippe ShowroomintroducesHoustontothedeBoulleCollection of jewelry, designed or selected by Karen, the location also houses the first official Patek Philippe showroom in the world. That calling card has gained them immediate entrée into Houston’s elite shopping and social scene.
“Patek Philippe is our biggest drawing card,” Denis says. “Our brand is not big enough to open into Houston by itself and succeed. We found very select brands that can’t be found elsewhere that we can use to differenti- ate ourselves. That is the key — offering pieces that they can’t get anywhere else.” The boutique is also the only David Webb dealer in Houston. They chose as their location the new River Oaks District, where their heavy-hitting neighbors include Cartier, Chopard, Harry Winston, John Hardy and Van Cleef & Arpels. They wanted the store to be welcoming but also el- egant and bespoke enough to outshine competitors on the global luxury-brand level. “We were coming up against all the big boys in the industry, STORY BY EILEEN McCLELLAND
Reprinted with permission from Instore Magazine
AUGUST 2016 | INSTOREMAG.COM 49
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