Just one year ago, having all hands on deck for us meant 12 employees. But between then and now, something exciting gave our jewelry manufacturing work a boost.
Today, we often find ourselves bringing on 10 to 15 additional temporary employees just to keep pace with demand. We’re working through details to build a new, larger facility near Salt Lake City, because we're bursting at the seams working to fill orders. By the end of this year alone, we’ll be hiring up to 35 new full-time employees.
Luxurien has long been recognized as one of the premier suppliers of contemporary metal wedding bands in the U.S. But a few years back, we recognized a growing demand for something unique: high-quality jewelry with camouflage inlays, so we committed to filling that gap. We signed license agreements with Mossy Oak & Realtree, two of the most popular camouflage brands in the world, and began to make and distribute camouflage rings.
While that set the stage for bigger and better things, the real game-changing moment was set in motion when Walmart began promoting its 2014 Open Call for products that support American jobs. Luxurien was one of very few jewelry manufacturers based right here in the U.S. – and we knew we had something to offer. So we submitted our application to see if they’d meet with us, and it's been nothing short of a snowball effect ever since.
We found ourselves face-to-face with Walmart buyers, pitching our contemporary metal bands, camouflage rings and exotic wood jewelry. Within weeks, we were on our way to San Bruno, Calif., where Walmart.com committed to selling about 150 of our products online. The response from customers has been so positive that our online deal with Walmart recently expanded to include the sale of our rings in more than 600 of its U.S. stores.
It’s a pretty big undertaking – particularly for a small business like ours. But the way Walmart committed to walking side-by-side with us from day one has been just as valuable as the orders it has placed. The buyers have been there to make suggestions and inject ideas. We’ve added efficiencies that simply weren’t there before, our margins have gone up considerably, and we’ve been able to raise wages for our employees. All this has, without a doubt, contributed to making us a stronger company for the long term.
This was undoubtedly what Walmart had in mind when, in January 2013, it pledged to purchase an additional $250 billion in products that support American jobs over 10 years. And Luxurien is proud to be part of this growing success story.