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U.S. Retail
By Lara Ewen
A new year brought renewed confidence to jewelry retailers. Store owners and managers said they looked forward to serving a more relaxed clientele. And while complaints about the internet’s share of the consumer dollar still resonated, there was also talk about online opportunities and adapting to changing times. Most stores saw positive December holiday sales figures, which also helped bolster the general feeling that perhaps, finally, the political tension was over, and the country as a whole was ready to start shopping again.
The end of December was busy for jewelry stores across the country. The season started late, as it has been doing for the past several years, but once sales picked up, they were strong. Babs Noelle, owner of Alara Jewelry in Bozeman, Montana, said her store was up 9 percent for the holiday, despite certain obstacles. “Our area is becoming more and more secular and less focused on purchasing gifts for religious holidays,” she said. “So, we went into the holiday selling season with a much tighter control on our inventory, meaning, we had less. And we still enjoyed that level of growth.” Noelle said diamond fashion earrings were hot sellers, as well as children’s 18-karat gold jewelry. For Lorraine Barker, co-owner of Barker Diamond Company in Nashville, Tennessee, strong holidays sales may have been a direct reaction to the end of the national election cycle. “We had a great holiday,” she said. “It was better than 2015. I think the election, because it dragged on for so long, put people in a bad mood. I think the fact that the election was over loosened people up, but I’m not going to say it was because of the outcome.” Barker said, too, that her customers were spending more time on their jewelry choices. “Our customers are thoughtful,” she said. “They’re choosing their diamond and their setting and putting it together. Sometimes someone comes in with a whole Pinterest page.” Barker also said that pearls have been selling very well for her, in addition to traditionally styled custom with antique-inspired engraved pieces. The election was also a factor for Jonathan Zadok, owner of Zadok Jewelers in Houston, Texas. He said that a combination of oil rebounding and Trump winning had been good for his final December tally. “Holiday was tremendous,” he said. “We were definitely feeling the Trump bump. But in Houston, when energy is down we feel that, too. I think any time there’s an election, there’s uncertainty and people get nervous, and when oil sneezes, the city of Houston gets sick.” Zadok said that because of that, his store was flat to a little down, year on year, for 2016, but he was optimistic that change was on the way. “I think we’ll be up for 2017,” he said.
Sales in December were even strong for stores that had seen rough months in the fall. Like Zadok, Tami Toms, general manager of Carreras Jewelers in Richmond, Virginia, said that 2016 had a lot to do with the election. “October was horrendous,” she said. “It was the worst October I’ve ever seen in 23 years. But we rebounded really well. After the election, people felt like they could breathe. And they just got over it. So we were a little down, year on year, for Christmas, but calendar-wise we still did really well, and our sales were up. And January was crazy good.” Toms said that women’s self-purchasing and colored gemstones were particularly important to her bottom line. Also doing well were silver and custom. “We have some basic silver stuff,” she said. “It’s what my sales manager wears, and when she wears it customers come in and get it. Also, customization; the Millennials like to make their jewelry their own.”
Not all stores ended the year on a high note, though. In Las Vegas, John Nichols, sales manager at Huntington Jewelers, said that holiday 2016 was disappointing, as was his overall year, which was a little down from 2015. “2016 wasn’t the worst year, but we didn’t meet our expectations,” he said. “During the holiday season, we always used to have a couple of our high-dollar customers making big purchases. But we didn’t have that in 2016, and I think it’s a direct result of the election year.” Still, Nichols is hopeful that the coming months will usher in a rebound. “I hope 2017 will be better,” he said.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - February 2017. To subscribe click here.
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