🔒Longtime Portland jeweler aims for bigger sparkle in city’s Old Port

After more than a century in downtown Portland, including the past 50 years on Congress Street, Springer’s Jewelers is moving to larger digs in the city’s Old Port. The family-owned business will triple its retail footprint with a move to 455 Fore St., expanding to 6,000 square feet from its current location at 580 Congress St. The company owns its Congress Street building but will lease the larger Fore Street space for a new flagship store that has been in the works since before 2020. “This has been a long process, but it was really important for us to stay on the peninsula,” the retailer's fourth-generation operator, CEO Lilly Mullen, told Mainebiz in a phone interview. She is the first woman to lead the business since it was founded in 1870 in what was then known as Saccarappa. Today, with locations in Portland, Bath and Portsmouth, N.H., the company employs just under 80 employees. Mullen said the plan is to employ around 30 people at the flagship store, a work in progress slated to open in 2027.

'Significant investment'

While Mullen declined to disclose the project price tag, she touted Springer’s “significant investment in the Portland and southern Maine community.” Contractors include Portland-based M.W. Hoss Construction and Studio Tonic AG, a design agency based in Switzerland. The project brings together three former retail spaces that have been fully gutted. Without giving too much away about the planned store, Mullen said it will offer an “experiential shopping model,” including a bar at the back of the store where clients can sip coffee and champagne and munch on nibbles. “This is a model that has been used all across the country,” and which aims to appeal to tourists and locals alike, she said.

Higher visibility

Asked whether there were any safety concerns related to the move, Mullen underscored that the move had been planned for some time, sparked in part by access to better parking. “It was really important for us to move to an area with higher visibility and increased traffic,” she said. She added that the U.S. luxury market for jewelry and watches is “right in line” with the international market and continues to grow, especially for businesses that can offer craftsmanship and experience. Mullen said Springer's has not yet decided whether to sell its 2,000-square-foot Congress Street space or seek a tenant.