‘VAN Jewelry’ CEO Lee Eun-joo: “Trust Is Everything”

[Financial News] “As in any field, after engaging in the wholesale and retail trade of precious metals and jewelry for many years, the things I have valued as dearly as life itself are ‘keeping promises’ and ‘trust.’”
This is the management philosophy of Lee Eun-joo, who runs the precious metals and jewelry store VAN Jewelry on the second floor of Haeundae LCT Mall in Busan.
After graduating from school, Lee entered the precious metals distribution industry more than 30 years ago as an employee of a diamond wholesaler in Changseon-dong, Jung-gu, Busan’s old downtown, where jewelry stores were concentrated.
At the time, diamonds were commonly given to brides as matching sets of rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Wholesale and retail trade was so active that sellers could hardly keep enough products in stock.
Treating trust as the lifeblood of her business, Lee built a successful career as a specialist who supplied diamonds—then distributed somewhat discreetly across the country—to jewelry stores through intermediary wholesalers.
Known as “Lee Eun-joo, when it comes to trust,” she began earning recognition for her ability to quickly supply goods to wholesalers who collected and resold items, as well as jewelry stores seeking custom products based on customer orders.
Her success was rooted in a strict personal principle: when purchasing precious metals, she paid a premium, while when selling them to wholesale clients or retail customers, she set prices lower than others, even if that meant keeping her own margin small.
As a result, she was the first person called whenever a “good item” became available. Once she learned how to quickly secure the precious metals that regular customers sought at retail stores, her sales rose sharply as well.
Lee shared her own secret: rather than setting prices high from the outset and then bargaining with customers who were expected to ask for discounts, she added only a minimal margin and offered accurate fixed prices based on her conscience. Customers came to appreciate this more over time and became regulars.
Her firm belief is that playing games with prices inevitably leads to a loss of trust. At the very top of her business card, she has even printed the words, “Trust is the lifeblood of jewelry.”
Drawing on her years of hands-on experience in the wholesale and retail trade of jewelry and precious metals, Lee is now regarded as one of the few experts in Korea with an exceptional ability to recognize at a glance the value of not only diamonds but also gold, silver, gemstones and rare precious metals.
Lee has operated specialty jewelry stores in Changseon-dong in Busan’s old downtown, at the Beomil-dong Jewelry Market in Jobangap, and at Lotte Hotel Busan in Seomyeon. “At the beginning of this year, after putting up the sign for my specialty store at Haeundae LCT Mall, which I had long wanted to enter as Busan’s finest affluent neighborhood, I have been happy to communicate with my regular customers in a different atmosphere,” she said.
Lee, who has also served as president of the Busan Maehwa Rotary Club for her community service and as president of the Geumjeong JC Alumni Association last year, shared her own wisdom as well. “I compare running a business to pedaling a bicycle up a steep hill: if you stop, you inevitably fall or roll backward,” she said. “But if you pedal without resting even for a moment, your health may begin to suffer. So you should occasionally stop the bicycle, take in and enjoy the surrounding scenery, and keep moving forward.”
[email protected] Byun Ok-hwan Reporter