Hannoush Jewelers family lives the American dream - MassLive.com
By ELIZABETH LaFOND-COPPEZ
Special to The Republican
The Hannoush brothers, Elias, Joseph, Anthony, Norman, Peter, George, Camile and Nabil, had the classic American dream. They desired to own their own business.
Their dream came true in 1980, when the first Hannoush Jewelers storefront opened in Chicopee.
"Our dream was to have one store," Camile Hannoush remembers. "That was it."
But one store led to opening another, and another and another after that.
Today, Hannoush Jewelers has nearly 50 shops throughout New England, the Midwest, and as far south as Florida. They also own 15 Gift-ology stores that sell specialty gifts, home decor, accessories and jewelry.
Hannoush employs around 500 people, with over 30 being members of the Hannoush family.
The Hannoush brothers are all trained jewelers. "My older brothers apprenticed in Lebanon, and, one by one, we all fell in love with the trade," Hannoush adds.
As their business gained success, the Hannoush brothers thought it would be nice for each to have his own store. It took more than the Hannoush family to make this happen.
"Since day one, our employees have given us the ability to create successful locations," Hannoush says. "We put a lot of effort into developing and building a culture that creates great management and staff, who offer the best customer service out there.
"Today, we're focusing on growing our business from within," he adds. "We're continuing to train and further develop our customer service skills."
Even as the world of online shopping expands, Hannoush believes people will always enjoy going out to shop. "We're a family business that our customers can trust, because jewelry is about trust and confidence," he says.
Hannoush Jewelers' most popular jewelry continues to be engagement and wedding rings. Hannoush says customers are not buying the fancy fashion diamond jewelry that was once popular, so they offer jewelry from vendors like Pandora and Alex and Ani.
"Jewelry is like fashion - always changing," Hannoush says. "At one time we couldn't keep up with the demand for tennis bracelets. But traditional diamond studs are always popular."
Hannoush Jewelers also continues to design, create and manufacture custom jewelry, all by using the latest technology. "Our customers can create their own ring and see 3-D imaging before it's manufactured," he explains.
Hannoush Jewelers strives to be the jeweler that their customers can trust and go back to year after year. "We don't want to just sell jewelry," he says. "We want to build relationships and serve our customers for all their needs."
