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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Robbins Bros. Executive to Manage Growth

There’s a little bit of d & #233;j & #341; vu in the life of Andy Heyneman these days. As he assumes the reins as president of Robbins Bros. the World’s Biggest Engagement Ring Store, he is joining a company that is at much the same stage of growth that his predecessor company, Guitar Center, experienced about 10 years ago. Robbins Bros. newest store is even in the exact same location that a Guitar Center store once occupied. Although he wasn’t looking for a new job when Robbins Bros. went seeking its first outside president, Heyneman said he couldn’t help being attracted by the notion of once again helping to build a local business into one that operates on a national stage. “As Guitar Center became more of a big business and relied more on mechanized processes and a little less on individual entrepreneurialism,” said Heyneman. “As I became aware of the Robbins Bros. story, I recognized what incredible similarities there were compared to Guitar Center around 1994 and 1995.” After brothers Steve Robbins and Skip Robbins took over the business in the 1980s and re-engineered the jewelry stores to focus on engagements and weddings, they built up a chain of seven stores in Southern California. Then two years ago, after securing outside equity financing, Glendale-based Robbins Bros. embarked on a national expansion beginning in Texas where the chain has so far added four new stores. But with Skip Robbins moving onto other ventures, leadership has fallen to one brother, and it became necessary to add a new layer of management that would help execute Steve Robbins’ vision. “Steve Robbins, who is founder and chairman, along with a number of other partners are intent upon building a truly important national brand,” said Heyneman. “I came to them with experience of how to do it, what to do and what not to do.” Heyneman rose through the ranks of Guitar Center over 26 years, beginning as a salesman and holding positions including store and district manager, marketing and advertising director, chief merchandising manager, research and development and web development along the way. When he left, Heyneman was senior vice president in charge of marketing communications. Heyneman was not looking for a new job when he came upon the Robbins Bros. opportunity. But he said he was most happy at Guitar Center during the years that the company was evolving on a national scale and he was attracted by the idea of tackling the challenges of that growth cycle again, this time in a more senior position. “Tightrope walkers practice with a net and at some point they want to see if they can do it without a net,” Heyneman said. “I’ve got great confidence in my abilities and there is something tremendously exciting about seeing what kind of leader I can be.”

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