40 RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2018 A sk retailers what they can do to keep their suppliers happy and no one misses a beat.The first thing they all say is: pay our bills on time. Ask retailers what suppliers can do to make them happy and you get a more complicated response. “The world has gotten smaller with the growth of the internet,” says John Green, CEO of Lux, Bond & Green, a six-store chain in New England founded in 1898. “So many suppliers sell directly to the customer. Some allow us to sell their products online. Some don’t. In general, the bigger the brand, the bigger the challenge.” Successful retailers, including Green, see the ideal supplier rela- tionship as a partnership. The retailers we honored in this issue spoke often of their relationships with family members, employees and customers. In this final story, we continue to explore connections, getting four other jewelers’ perspectives on one of the most delicate relationships in the industry today – the one between retailers and suppliers. DELICATE A RETAILERSANDSUPPLIERS By Cathleen McCarthy :