Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Tuscaloosa and Northport!
Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Bromberg's: Combining Tradition and Innovation for Nearly 200 Years with Ricky Bromberg
Ever wondered how a family business can thrive for nearly two centuries? Join us as we explore the fascinating journey of Bromberg's with their president, Ricky Bromberg. From its origins in Mobile in 1836 to becoming a cherished institution in Birmingham, Bromberg's has gracefully endured monumental historical events like the Civil War and world wars. Ricky shares the secrets of their enduring legacy and how they have successfully balanced the weight of history with the need to stay modern and relevant.
Ricky offers an insider's look into the unique company culture cultivated through generations of family ownership and enduring customer relationships. Discover the core values of quality, trustworthiness, and continuous education that have made Bromberg's a respected name in the jewelry industry. Ricky reflects on the commitment to innovation and adaptability that allows Bromberg's to meet the needs of today's customers while honoring its storied past. Join us for an enlightening conversation on how this iconic jewelry business remains a beloved community staple, nearly 189 years strong.
#GNPBirmingham #Brombergs #FamilyBusiness #LegacyOfExcellence #JewelryIndustry #BirminghamAL #LocalBusiness #SmallBusinessSuccess #TimelessTradition #BusinessInnovation #CustomerRelationships #CommunityStaple #HistoryAndInnovation #PodcastLife #JewelryLovers #FamilyOwnedBusiness #BusinessLegacy #HistoricBusinesses
4o
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Patricia Blondheim.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Patricia Blondheim, and today we're speaking to Good Neighbor Ricky Bromberg, and Ricky is the president of Bromberg's in Mountain Brook and at the Summit here in Birmingham. Ricky, how are you today?
Speaker 3:I'm doing well. Thank you, Patricia.
Speaker 2:Hey Bromberg's has such an incredible legacy. Can you tell us a little bit about its origins and the journey that brought it to where it is today?
Speaker 3:Well, we are currently celebrating our almost our 189th year. We were founded in 1836 in Mobile, and we were founded in Mobile, although we were based in Birmingham. In 1836, birmingham didn't even exist. Birmingham was not established as a city until the early 1870s, and so what happened was is my, my, my, my great grandfather. You know, the company was founded by my great, great great grandfather. But my great grandfather saw an opportunity in Birmingham because it was a boom town, as you may know, at that time, you know, and he decided to open another location of the company in Birmingham because, you know, just decided to seize that by 1915, the generation in Mobile had died out, and so we've just been based in Birmingham ever since then.
Speaker 2:Generation in Mobile had died out, and so we've just been based in Birmingham ever since then. Well, I mean, bromberg's is just five years younger than the University of Alabama and predates Tiffany by a year, so it's nice to feel to be part of such a historic timeline in American retail. I mean, what are some of the biggest milestones in Bromberg's 188 year history? Well, I think you know, really honestly, I think, one of our challenges.
Speaker 3:you know there's been a lot of milestones, I mean, there's been a civil war.
Speaker 3:There was, you know, the world wars. There were, there were epidemics, so there's been a lot of things. But you know, I think our really are, I think our biggest ongoing challenge all the time is that, ok, so we're old and we're proud of that, but, you know, we want to be current, we want to be, we want to be relevant for whatever age we're living in. So I think that you know, you can't totally rest on your history. I mean, you're proud of it, of course, but you want to reinvent yourself every day to, you know, to be as fresh as the new day is.
Speaker 2:I mean, brawn Bars has been a family owned business for generations, and how has that influenced the company culture and customer relationships?
Speaker 3:the company culture and customer relationships. Well, you know you end up having relationships with people who you had, family. You know we're waiting on the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of our previous customers, and so you have long-term relationships. I think the fact that part of our culture and I think part of it is because of our longevity we have associates and employees who've worked here for their entire lifetime practically, you know, certainly their entire adult life and it's it just creates this I guess culture is the right word where it's a family feeling. Even though maybe I've just happened to be the person with the last name Bromberg, everyone here is part of the same Bromberg's family, you know, in their customers' eyes.
Speaker 2:What values have you passed down? You know more specifically that remain today through the generations, and ensure that Bromberg's remains a trusted and valuable name in jewelry.
Speaker 3:Well, I think our bedrock principles are you know the quality of the goods that we sell and the you use the word trustworthiness. You know just the knowledge that we have of the products that we sell, and it's not just, it's not enough just to know the truth about what you're selling, it's to also tell the truth about what you're selling. So we, you know we're very committed to employee education. As far as them, gemological education and knowing what they're talking about and speaking with authority.
Speaker 2:You're iconic You've been in business for over 188 years now. How has Bromberg adapted to meeting the needs of modern customers while staying true to its historic roots?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, in our mission statement, you know, you won't see anything about the word jewelry, although we, historically, have always been a jewelry store. What we are is a luxury store and I think what's happened over the course of time is that the definition of luxury can change. Or what is a luxury? I'll give you an example. An example would be at the turn of the century, turn of the 20th century to the 20th century, from the 1900s. One thing that was a luxury then that's not necessarily a luxury now, not a luxury at all is a camera.
Speaker 3:You know we, my great grandfather, befriended George Eastman who was the inventor of the Brownie camera for Kodak, and it was. That was just when people were beginning to own their own cameras. So we got into the camera business. We were very much into the camera business because cameras were a luxury. We, um, we carried cameras from the turn of the century until the 1960s and then, when cameras became rather commonplace and instamatics entered the scene, we exited that business because it really wasn't true to our mission anymore. So you know there are other examples of that, of businesses. You know that you get in or out of that. Speak to what is luxury. You know that's I think. If you don't do that, then you're not going to be relevant.
Speaker 2:Well, we talked about this a little before and I hate to even crack open this Easter egg. Or can we call it even a Pandora's box, because running a business for 188 years must come with its challenges, right.
Speaker 3:Well, just to be clear, I haven't been here all those 188 years. I may look like it, but I'm happy.
Speaker 2:You definitely do not look 188 years old. But we were kind of sharing significant you know hardships that Bromberg's has faced and there are so many of them so I kind of hesitate to because I can't boil it down what are some significant challenges that Bromberg's had to pivot around in its 188 year history?
Speaker 3:Well, there have been. I know there was a in our history books. I mean, I know there was a yellow fever epidemic. There was a. We've had a fire we had, you know, that devastated the company. We had, you know, a civil war. We've had other major wars, the two world wars. So you know there's just a depression. You know there's just been all these things that you know we've have to adapt in order to survive.
Speaker 2:What about in a more contemporary way? There is a book in this, by the way. Pretty certain there is. But do you have a favorite story about your time at Bromberg's?
Speaker 3:Well, you know I guess it's really it's the I've kind of worked here one way or another since I was five years old. You know, I started as the when I was a little kid, and this is back when you had a manual operator, manual elevator operator, and I would sometimes, on a Saturday, just operate the elevator, and I would sometimes, on a Saturday, just operate the elevator. So you know, I was my father. He gave me the title vice president of vertical transportation, you know. So I've just I've been here, it's really all I know.
Speaker 2:I've been here, you know, virtually my whole life. Well, how do you see Bromberg's from here on continuing to innovate and thrive, you know, in an increasingly rapid, rapidly changing retail landscape?
Speaker 3:Right? Well, you know, although we we want to, one of our, one of our main principles is our personal connection with our customers. So, for example, we do have, you know, offer items on the internet, but I look at that as more of a way of people getting gathering information before they come in and have the personal exchange with our employees. You know, but it's just, we just have to see what each day brings and remain modern, and but still, that's the trick. We have a. We kind of walk a tightrope between, you know, remaining true to our roots but also being current and relevant to whatever age we're living in.
Speaker 2:Personal connection with your customers is becoming more and more of a commodity now and something that is of greater and greater value to the people around us. You know we all crave it.
Speaker 3:I guess we were cool before it was cool, you know, because that's really what we base our whole business on.
Speaker 2:For those who might not be familiar with Bromberg's what's the one thing you'd like them to take away about your business?
Speaker 3:one thing you'd like them to take away about your business that we are uh, you don't stay in business as long as we've stayed in business, unless you're doing something right and and you're treating your customers the way they we. You would want to be treated yourself, and I would say that that is um. One thing that I would want people to know is I invite them to come in and visit us, and we'd love to show you around and show you what we're all about.
Speaker 2:You know, I got married 30 years ago and I have two whole cabinets in my kitchen dedicated to gifts from Bromberg's. So thank you, we appreciate that you have a place in my life and how can um listeners who want to connect with Bromberg's um how can they reach you and how can they explore your collections?
Speaker 3:well, the easiest way to just get a brief introduction is go to our website, which is brownbergscom, b-r-o-m-b-e-r-g-scom, and we're located in the Mountain Brook Village in Birmingham, right on the main traffic circle in Mountain Brook, and we're also located at the Summit. We do have a sister company that's in Jacksonville, florida, and we're called Underwood Jewelers there, but in Birmingham. Those are our two locations.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, and I will link to all that in the description below. Ricky, thank you so much for coming by and sharing Bromberg's with us today.
Speaker 3:Oh, it's my pleasure. Thank you very much, Patricia. Nice to meet you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbirminghamcom. That's gnpbirminghamcom, or call 205-952-0148.