American Jewellery store chain owners decide to give 'business ownership to employees for free’

ByAdarsh Kumar Gupta
Nov 19, 2023 06:53 PM IST

The stores of the business are located in Philadelphia and New Jersey in the United States.

Owners of a Jewellery store chain are retiring and transferring ownership of the business to their employees for free. Harvey and Maddy Rovinsky, the owners of Bernie Robbins Jewelers are passing on the baton, having dedicated more than 60 years to the business. The stores of the business are located in Philadelphia and New Jersey in the United States where they deal in diamond jewellery and products from celebrated designers.

Store of Bernie Robbins Jewelers(X(formerly Twitter))

In an interaction with Fox News Digital, Harvey talked about the decision and highlighted that they needed a path for succession.

"My wife and I are not kids anymore. We don't have any family in the business, and we kind of need a path for succession. … You know, our runway is getting shorter and if we have a problem with one of us or both of us, then the business goes away," said Harvey.

"We've been looking for a way to keep it going, to keep really great people continually employed. Many of them have been with us 30 years, 25, 20 years. So these are long-term people, they're like family," added Harvey.

Harvey highlighted that they tried to sell the business but couldn't find any suitable buyer who they could believe about continuing their legacy.

"We said, ‘You know, this has been right in front of our faces all this time. Instead of trying to find a qualified buyer, why not give it to people that are successfully running it now,’" said the owner.

"They understand our culture, they understand what we want. They've been doing it, they've been running it and we've been fortunate that money aspect was not a motivation. So we're going to continue the business with the people that know how to run it," explained Harvey.

After the transition becomes official, Harvey would continue serving as the CEO of the business.

"I'm flattered and honored that they've asked me to stay on, which I will be happy to do until I annoy them enough and they fire me," he said.