Decades of service adorn Aebischer’s

By HOLLY SCHOENSTEIN

The family-owned business focuses on customer experience rather than competition.

POLAND — Swiss immigrants Harold and Johanna Aebischer arrived in New York City in 1927.

Unfortunately, the watch repair tools packed with their luggage were missing.

Clutching the little savings they had brought from home, the Aebischers traveled to Ohio and settled in Struthers. Word had spread to Switzerland about how the steel industry in the Mahoning Valley was booming, and Harold Aebischer envisioned a business opportunity.

He found a space at a well-traveled section of Bridge Street in downtown Struthers and opened Aebischer’s Jewelers watch repair shop.

To attract customers, he placed a workbench in the shop’s window and disassembled and reassembled his own watch until a customer came in and inquired about a watch repair.

Soon after opening for business, he added an inventory of watches for sale.

More than three-quarters of a century later, Aebischer’s Jewelers, now located at 68 S. Main St. in Poland, is carrying on the family tradition by selling watches and a variety of jewelry.

Doug Aebischer, Harold and Johanna’s grandson, now owns the store with his wife, Karen.

The quaint store, tucked into a downtown corner, celebrated its 80th anniversary in June, in combination with a renovation and expansion project that added 950 square feet to the 1,130-square-foot store.

The project added two lighted jewelry showcases and a private bridal jewelry area in the showroom and larger work spaces for watch repairs and administrative tasks at the back of the store.

The expanded repair area now accommodates one of the workbenches from the original store.

Aebischer said the renovation has created an exciting time for his store.

“I’m hoping that it will increase sales and give customers a better shopping experience and more room,” he said.

Now there is more room to display merchandise, although the store has not added to its selection.

About 100 people attended the open house, Aebischer said.

He grew up with an interest in working at the store.

“I was never forced to continue on with the family business but did because it was genuinely what I enjoyed doing,” he said. “I have always been mechanically inclined, and as I got older, I enjoyed gemstones and working with jewelry, in addition to the watches.”

The business has continued to survive in a time when some jewelry stores in the area have downsized or closed.

Copploe Diamond Jewelers closed its Youngstown store in 2000, and five years later, the company closed its remaining store in Boardman. The owner attributed it to slow business.

Jerry Lee’s closed its Boardman store in 2003, but the Youngstown location remains open.

Aebischer said he is thankful that his business has survived.

“I feel God’s hand has been on this business,” he said. "I’m not saying we’re better, but we’re surviving and growing. I’m enjoying that right now.”

He believes the focus on customer experience rather than on the business’ competition has enabled it to survive throughout the decades.

“I ask myself all the time, ‘Why should people want to come here?’ and I say it’s because of the experience they have here. The relationships and the feelings they get from here brings them back. If people aren’t satisfied, they won’t come back,” he said.

Nine full-time and part-time employees work at the store, including his wife and daughter, Abby. His father and former store owner, Harold Aebischer, and father-in-law, Bill Russell, also help.

hschoenstein@vindy.com