As the president of Ritani, Brian Watkins is disrupting the luxury-shopping world by creating the first ever Clicks-and-Bricks Omni-Channel retail experience in bridal and designer jewelry. Since launching in 2012, Ritani has grown rapidly, shipping to more than 65 countries and featured in over 150 jewelry stores through a robust partner network. Brian began his career with Bain Consulting before entering the diamond business at Blue Nile with positions including VP of Corporate Planning and VP of Merchandising. Prior to Ritani – Brian held the CFO role at WetPaint and Director of Strategy at Nordstrom. Brian is an angel investor in a number of e-commerce companies and a frequent conference speaker about Omni-Channel retailing and the diamond industry. A graduate from the Walter A Haas School of Business at Berkeley, Brian makes his home in Seattle with his wife and two children.

On the show, Watkins duscussed Ritani’s innovation practices. He explained their “clicks and bricks” business model: customers can create and buytheir rings online, but have the choice of actually purchasing online or waiting and examining the piece once it is shipped to a local retailer. By partnering with local jewelers, they benefit from the jewelers’ trusted brand reputation, and the jewelers benefit from being able to adopt new technologies and innovation practices that they otherwise wouldnt be able to do.