The year
started off slowly for some retailers, but by mid-spring, everyone was steadily
climbing back to projected earnings. Stores are expecting the coming year to
continue on a slow but steady growth path, with a slight increase in sales,
though some jewelers have reported light traffic.
That means customers are
spending more, so as long as stores can find the right merchandise mix, the
coming summer looks bright.
On the way back up
Richard Lee
Mathis — owner of Symmetry Jewelers in New Orleans, Louisiana — recounted the
roller coaster of the last few months’ retail performance.
“Christmas was up from 2016," he said. "Then January was the
worst month in 20 years. In talking to people all over the country, it seemed
like everyone had their worst January.”
Still, he bounced back in February, his March sales were significantly
improved from 2017, and April was good, he reported. “Things are looking up
right now,” he said. “But when you had such a bad month to start off the year,
it’s hard to make up the difference.”
Not all stores saw dramatic
changes month to month, although even for the retailers that have traditionally
seen steady sales, spring has brought in an upswing.
“This year, actually, is
up over last year,” said Mindi Robuck, co-owner of Michael’s Jewelers in
Anchorage, Alaska. “People are excited to be out. And as far as sales, we’re
nice and steady.”
Robuck said her store hadn’t
had a busy Christmas, but that wasn’t unusual for her. “We hear that down in
the lower states, stores wait for Christmas, but December is just another month
for us,” she explained. “Anyway, we don’t really have anything for Valentine’s
Day or Christmas. We don’t sell $100 items here.”
A time for watches
In
the Midwest, sales were steady, but jewelers were dealing with a watch
shortage.
“[The year] is off to a nice
start,” said Bob Moeller, president and director of sales at R.F. Moeller,
which has three stores in Minnesota. “We’re up over last year, though January
and February were very similar to last year, and in the Midwest, we saw a drop
in March due to the Rolex supply issue.”
Demand for watches is high
and supply low right now, he said. “Everyone had a massive Rolex year last
year, and they simply outsold production.”
But he added that secondhand
watches were filling the gap. “The resale market on Rolex is crazy. A
pre-owned, like-new black and blue Rolex GMT, which lists for $8,950, is
selling for $10,500. And that’s pre-owned. That tells you that people don’t
have the stock.”
Harbingers of change
Despite a
leveling-out sales-wise, there are still a few telltale signs that jewelry
retail is going through a big change, and one of them is show attendance.
“I know there are shows that are struggling,” said Moeller. “Centurion
is struggling, and Basel[world] was half as big this year as last year.”
Another sign is the interest
in synthetics. “We finally decided to use lab-created stones in eternity bands
that we can market to millennials who don’t want to buy natural stones, and who
are attracted to these stones,” said Mathis.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2018. To subscribe click here.