Julie Collins, former Day’s Gemstone and Watch Buyer, began the new position on July 25th.
Waterville, Maine; July 28th, 2022 – Day’s Jewelers has hired Julie Collins for the Vice President of Merchandising position in their corporate office. Julie previously worked as the Gemstone and Watch Buyer for Day’s. She has worked for the company since 2002, when she began as an office manager in the company’s Auburn, Maine location. Julie transitioned to office manager in the Manchester, NH location, worked as the manager of Inventory Operations in the corporate office, and spent 10 years buying various categories including gemstones, watches, gold, silver fashion, and giftware. Julie holds an Associates in Science degree, as well as a Bachelor’s in Business. She and her husband, Mark recently built a new home in Sidney, where they reside with their two sons.
Julie was hired as Day’s Jewelers’ new Vice President of Merchandising on July 14th and began the position on July 25th. Of being hired for the position, Julie says, “20 years ago I started working at Day’s knowing absolutely nothing about the jewelry business. This is an amazing industry with so many people willing to share their knowledge and experience. I am very excited to lead our incredibly strong and experienced merchandising team.”
In her new position, Collins will provide leadership, guidance, and training to Day’s’ ten employees within the merchandising department. This department handles the acquisition, quality control, distribution, and security of all products that are purchased or developed by the company. Additionally, she will oversee Day’s’ 15-million-dollar inventory and will be responsible for maintaining relationships with over 200 gemstone and fine jewelry suppliers worldwide, including DeBeers, the world’s largest diamond mining company. Above all else, Julie will ensure that Day’s offers the best jewelry style and quality in the industry, so that Day’s can continue to seamlessly offer the best service to their valued customers.
Day’s Jewelers is excited to see where Julie will take the merchandising department, and the Day’s family extends our most sincere congratulations to Julie as she begins this exciting new chapter with the company.
The company’s previous VP of Merchandising, Kathy Corey, bought Day’s Jewelers alongside her husband, Jeff Corey, in 1988 and has been a strong influence in the success of the company ever since. Kathy was involved in the search for a new Merchandising VP and says of Collins,
“Through the various positions she’s held, Julie has acquired a broad knowledge of Day’s Jewelers store operations and customer insight, especially in the areas of merchandising as Inventory Operations Manager and as a fine jewelry buyer for the last 14 years. I’m extremely proud that one of our own employees was Day’s preferred choice as our new Vice President of Merchandising. Julie is well prepared to take on her new leadership role and adopt innovative ideas for the future of Day’s.”
Kathy Corey will no longer be employed with the company but will continue to serve on Day’s Jewelers Board of Directors. The Day’s family wishes her the absolute best in her retirement from the company
About Day’s Jewelers
Day’s Jewelers, a Maine based employee-owned company, was founded by the Davidson brothers in Portland in 1914 and employs approximately 140 people in Maine & New Hampshire. Kathy and Jeff Corey, natives of Madawaska and Fort Kent, Maine, purchased Day’s from the original founders in 1988 and sold the company to employees in November 2021. Day’s Jewelers has eight physical store locations as well as a full e-commerce website. All Day’s locations feature full-service departments and custom jewelry designers. Day’s was selected as “Retailer of the Year” by Retail Association of Maine in 2016 and “Corporate Retailer of the Year” by the Woman’s Jewelers Association of America in 2017 and Maine’s Family Business of the Year in 2019. The company has been selected among “Best Places to Work in Maine” for 7 years.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DAY’S JEWELERS VISIT WWW.DAYSJEWELERS.COM
Day’s Jewelers Hires New VP of Merchandising
July 28, 2022
