Countdown to Christmas

Retail Jewelry Insights™ has stressed that decision-makers need information and good analysis of how changing events are likely to influence demand for the products they sell.  That knowledge is important in assessing risk and developing realistic plans to minimize it.  This issue of RJI will discuss industry’s challenges to growth during the fourth quarter as well as the opportunities emerging events offer to achieve better sales this season. 


Expectations Rise
Jewelers are counting down the days until anxious shoppers begin spending for Christmas gifts.  After months of declines, sales expectations among many jewelers increased dramatically after September.  However, it remains to be seen whether the renewed optimism is founded in fact.   Michael P. Niemera, ICSC Chief Economist and Director of Research, said in an October press release, "To be sure, the retail recovery will be uneven, and growth will be in spurts and fits, but it seems increasingly clear that it is recovery."

According to Niemera, September sales for department stores were encouraging.  That was confirmed in an article in Money Morning saying, “Three reports were unanimous that sales gained [in September], but to different degrees: Market research firm Retail Metrics Inc. said sales rose 1.1% last month, Thomson Reuters tallied a rise of 0.6% and a tally by International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. showed a 0.1% increase.”  However, it remains to be seen if the comparisons measure the same thing year over year.  For instance, changes in many school-year calendars, combined with the timing of Labor Day, to shift back-to-school sales into September...