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Front of Packouz Jewelers on Broadway, Portland, OR
photo credit: Brooke Van Roekel
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Last week, we met Rick Mahler, the owner of
Packouz Jewelers
in Portland, OR. Packouz is one of the
city’s last, high-end independent jewelry stores. As we have seen from other people’s journeys
with twists and turns, Rick didn’t set out to be a jeweler. He just happened to be in a store wearing a suit. Yes, he feels it’s as simple as
that. How did he get there?
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Zell Bros. back in the day in Portland, OR
photo credit: Meredith L. Clausen |
“It was the suit”
At Mt. Hood Community College, Rick was a broadcasting
major. It was while he was interning at
a radio station that he learned that only the on-air talent made a decent
living. Everyone behind the scenes
barely made minimum wage. It was
recommended to him that he look into sales.
That was where there he could earn a living. Rick started interning in the sales department
to learn the ropes.
One day, he found himself in a store in Clackamas Town
Center, a shopping mall in Oregon, wearing his suit, looking for a job. In the store was the Store Manager from Zell
Brothers, and he and Rick got to talking.
Zell Bros. had just let 2 people go from their store, and they needed
someone fast. Normally, Zell Bros.
required extensive experience in the jewelry business to be considered for a
position. Rick had sales
experience, and he was in a suit. Facing
a staffing shortage, this was enough, and Rick went to work for them.
“A rising star”
Within two years, Rick became one of the youngest store
managers within the Zell Bros. organization.
He did this for a year in Northern California when he was brought back
to the Portland store as Zell Bros. went through Chapter 11. Rick felt that if he worked hard, was honest,
and learned the ropes, he could eventually run the company. To get to that position, however, he was
going to have to move to manage bigger territories and stores. In his personal life, Rick was going through
a divorce, and there was no way he was going to leave his son to pursue his
career. After 6 years at Zell Bros.,
Rick realized that without moving, he wasn’t going to be able to climb any
higher at the company and was going to have to leave to develop and grow. This is when Larry Packouz entered the scene.
“Getting my management
feet”
Larry Packouz snagged Rick and brought him to Packouz
Jewelers to manage the business. As a
bit of a youngster, this transition wasn’t an easy one. Packouz was small and staffed by people who
had been there for many years. It took
Rick a few years to get his footing as most of the staff were used to just
going to Larry for everything.
After six years with Larry, Rick hit a bit of a ceiling in
his development. He was ambitious and
wanted to grow. Ironically, Zell Bros.
kept knocking on his door, trying to get him back. It was at this point, that Rick did return to
Zell Brothers; however, it ended up being under false pretenses.
“Out of town”
Rick re-joined Zell Brothers in Portland as General Sales
Manager. The company understood that he
wasn’t going to be able to move due to his family commitments. Within his first week back at Zell Bros., however,
Rick got the indication that Zell Bros. was considering him for a move. A few weeks later, he became aware that they
were interested in transferring him to a bigger region on the other side of the
country, which was not what both Zell Bros. and Rick had agreed upon his return
to the company.
During this time, Larry paid Rick a visit. He asked if he was happy. Rick wasn’t.
Rick asked Larry if he was happy.
Larry wasn’t happy. Three months
after Rick left Packouz, he returned.
He refers to this period as when he was “out of town.”
“It was the right
thing to do”
After working for Larry for a total of 12 years, Rick and
Larry began discussing Rick’s buying the business. No one in Larry’s family was interested in
running it, but Rick was. That was
2007. In 2008, Rick secured the
financing, and in 2009, it finally happened.
We all remember what major economic events took place in 2008. For Rick to buy a high-end jewelry store at
the height of the economic crisis was extraordinary, maybe even a little crazy,
to say the least. This is where his
complete faith in knowing that it was the right thing to do really took
hold. He knew that it was the right
thing for him and his new wife, for his kids, and even for Larry. What also made the transaction possible and a
success were three factors, according to Rick:
- The history of the store. It has such a long-standing history in the
city and is very well established in the community.
- Larry Packouz’s reputation. Larry defines service, honesty, and
quality. It is because of him, that so
many generations of Portlanders continued to shop at the store. Rick learned from the best.
- Rick’s management experience. Not only did he learn about service from
Larry, he honed his business and management skills at Zell Bros.
Even in the middle of the economic crisis, Rick wasn’t
worried about taking over the business.
He knew that it was just a matter of making the sales and THAT was
something he knew how to do.
The Five Questions:
As is part of my “day in the life” with each person, there
are five questions that I like to ask.
Here are Rick’s responses:
1. What have been
your most defining moments?
- Being
hired by Zell Bros was a fluke, but joining the best jewelry store in the US
was life changing.
- Getting hired by Larry. It was the only high-end independent store I
would have worked for.
- Returning to Larry. I knew I was legit and what I wanted to
do. It was an emotional commitment to
one another.
- Being considered for ownership was extraordinarily
flattering especially when you’re following the most popular person.
- Finally, securing the financing and realizing
the goal of making it happen was very defining.
2. Who has supported
you along the way?
- My dad.
He taught me work ethics and honesty.
- Kerry Kincaid of Zell Bros. He was a wonderful teacher, and I learned the
bulk of my industry knowledge from him.
- Larry Packouz.
Larry knows how to conduct himself with people. I learned all of my people skills from him
and how to be a nice person – honest, thorough & agreeable.
- My financiers.
They went to bat for me. Without
them, none of this would have happened.
3. Where do you find
inspiration?
I believe in God. I believe in my wife and kids. For outside interests and inspiration, I love
fast
cars.
4. What are you most
proud of?
My kids and the fact that I am
making this business successful make me proud.
I like feeling successful, that I’m doing a good job, and I can take
care of my family. That’s very important
to me.
5. What is your sense
for what is next?
In the short
term, it’s having a strong 4th quarter and completing the renovation
in the 1st quarter next year.
When that is done, we’ll be able to get the new website and ads up and
running. In the next 2 years, it will be
managing the day-to-day and see about my own son coming into the business. I hope to own the business free an clear in
8-9 years and be able to move away from the day-to-day operations. Then, Tanya and I can make decisions about
what we WANT to do and not what we HAVE to do.
Pay-it-forward question:
What is one piece of advice you would give someone on his or her own
journey?
Effort and honesty are essential. Any break you might get will come from your
own effort and the work you put in.
Also, try to get experience from the best place possible. That’s where great learning can happen.
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Next up: We'll get to see some of the incredible pieces of jewelry as each of the staff picks those items that best represent Packouz jewelers. It's time for a little sparkle!
