For Jewelers with Vision, Opportunities Abound

This issue of Retail Jewelry Insights™ is focused on emerging business trends for the second half of 2010, and the opportunities jewelers have to build sales during the third and fourth quarters of the year.


Is Business Getting Worse?

Frankly, no one knows for sure.  The Associated Press reported revenue from high-end jewelry sales plummeted in July from a year earlier, when sales were already grim.  This should come as no surprise to readers of RJI after our June article “Are Jewelry Sales Set to Decline.” Then, we said, decision-makers must recognize that second half business is as likely to be as different from the first half as in 2009, just the reverse.
 
The AP went on to say luxury sales, excluding jewelry, increased 0.2 percent compared to last year, when sales declined a whopping 16.3%.  Meanwhile, total jewelry sales declined 1.2 percent in the face of last year’s soft sales base when sales declined 13.3%.  This decline is consistent with the slowdown in jewelry store sales as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing June sales only increased 2.8% in June versus 7.2% in July 2010...