What It Means to Win “Coolest Store in America”
In 2017, Lester Lampert was fortunate enough to be awarded the title of “Coolest Store in America” by Instore Magazine. This year, our namesake Lester Lampert was invited to share his thoughts in the July 2018 issue of Instore Magazine in an article titled What Being Recognized as America's Coolest Jewelry Store Means to Chicago's Lester Lampert. “As a third generation jeweler, I consider myself fortunate to be included in the elite group of family businesses that are operating at the fourth generation level.” Writes Lester while reflecting on winning “Coolest Store in America” and what it has meant to the company.
As a fourth generation business, Lester lays out in his article that the company continually strives to focus on it’s originality in design, marketing, customer relationships, and dedication to the Chicago community. From custom jewelry featured in The Field Museum’s Grainger Hall of Gems, to the stained glass installation titled “L’dor V’dor” at The Loyola University Museum of Art, our family-owned company has always made our hometown of Chicago a top priority. As further testament to this commitment, Lester Lampert has been honored with several significant awards, including being named a finalist in the 2005 Illinois Family Business of the Year Award sponsored by Loyola University. The award recognized Lester Lampert for the contributions that we have made as an Illinois-based family business.
For our award winning store design, you could say we “Lesterized” over 4 floors for our jewelry store in the heart of downtown Chicago. Previously located on Oak Street, The Leopard’s most recent “spot” can be found in the heart of Chicago’s River North Neighborhood. Our new location gives us 5,000 square feet to offer new and beautiful jewelry design center for our customers, an expanded bridal collection of engagement rings, and more products tailored to the casual customer. From the second you walk into our elegant showroom you’ll see why Instore Magazine believes we deliver one of the coolest experiences in the jewelry industry.
Lester writes about the future of the family company and says, “Our America’s Coolest Store win signifies our fourth generation’s ongoing determination to improve, adjust and evolve with today’s changes, and they have taken the baton to remain in the forefront of individual fine jewelry stores. To me, the award means that the newest generation being led by my son, David, who is also humbled by this honor, ensures it will provide the Lampert family with an additional impetus and further strengthen the values that my grandfather instilled in us over 98 years ago. I’m proud to say that the Lampert legacy lives on.” Being voted the Coolest Store in America is a humbling experience and as a company we feel it comes with a lot of responsibility. We promise to provide the Chicagoland area with custom made fine jewelry that is in a league of its’ own.
You can read the article in its entirety here. (https://instoremag.com/know-how/159-column/27911-what-being-recognized-as-america-s-coolest-jewelry-store-means-to-chicago-s-lester-lampert)