REEDS Jewelers’s founder Bill Zimmer’s family operated retail jewelry stores; Bill learned from his brothers how to sell diamonds at a young age, just as his children would later learn from him.
In 1946, he and his wife Roberta bought a small jewelry store in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina and changed its name to REEDS Jewelers. After finding success, the Zimmers opened stores in Whiteville and Jacksonville, then expanded to other cities in the Carolinas. By 1979, they controlled two dozen retail outlets while still running their original Wilmington store. As they built their business, they built their family, and all four children grew up working at REEDS.
Bill’s son Alan Zimmer joined REEDS in 1981 and took charge of merchandising as Executive Vice President. Upon arriving at REEDS, Alan began instituting major changes to modernize the growing company. He officially became President and CEO in 1985. Today, REEDS Jewelers maintains the inviting and comfortable atmosphere of a family-run business--even with retail stores in thirteen states! Bill, who worked at his original store every day until his recent passing, would often express the pride he had in his son’s accomplishments, saying, “Alan has built the company!”