The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® ticked up to 118.9 in June 2017 from 117.6 in May. The Present Situation Index increased to 146.3 from 140.6 and the Expectations Index declined to 100.6 from 102.3.
The percentage of people saying business conditions were “good” improved to 30.8 percent from 29.8 percent, while those saying business conditions were “bad” shrank to 12.7 percent.
Those stating jobs were “plentiful” rose to 32.8 percent, while those who felt jobs were “hard to get” slipped to 18 percent from 18.3 percent.
Respondents expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months decreased to 20.4 percent from 21.5 percent while those expecting business conditions to worsen dropped to 9.9 percent from 10.3 percent.
Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead jumped to 19.3 percent from 18.6 percent, but those anticipating fewer jobs swelled to 14.6 percent from 12.1 percent.
Consumers expecting incomes to improve rose to 22.2 percent from 19.1 percent, and those expecting incomes to decline went up to 9.2 percent from 8.7 percent.
The Platinum Guild International (PGI) published its annual Platinum Jewellery Business Review and revealed that overall jewelry sales were challenging in 2016, driven in part by structural and cyclical trends. The report showed consumer retail sales data of platinum jewelry in 2016. It also relayed projections for 2017 for PGI’s four key markets — China, India, Japan and the U.S.
Platinum jewelry was less impacted than gold jewelry by global structural weakness. Platinum jewelry is bought more for its emotional meaning and less for wealth preservation and transference.
U.S. overall jewelry sales grew by 3 percent in 2016. Gold jewelry demand slipped 1 percent and platinum jewelry sales grew 5.4 percent, making it the fourth consecutive year of growth.
Engagement rings and wedding bands were the primary drivers of platinum jewelry sales in the U.S. for independent jewelers and major chains.
U.S. manufacturers and retailers attributed the uptick in platinum business to favorable pricing relative to gold.
PGI forecast a growth of between 5 percent and 7 percent for platinum jewelry in 2017.
The average amount U.S. couples spent on weddings dipped 2.8 percent year on year to $25,961 in the first quarter that ended March 31, 2017, according to research group The Wedding Report. Spending on most items remained consistent.
The average engagement ring cost about $3,406 during the quarter, unchanged year on year.
Engagement ring spend for brides slipped .1 percent and was unchanged for grooms.
Items that saw the biggest spending decline was digital or photo discs, engagement announcements and save-the-date cards.
Ecommerce payment fraud for jewelry and precious metals jumped 12.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2017, according to payments and commerce blog PYMNTS.com and ecommerce fraud protection service Signifyd. The report found that even as overall fraud has decreased, total fraud was 13.3 percent of all jewelry sales during the quarter, compared to 11.8 percent in 2016. In comparison, total fraud of sales across all categories slipped to 3.6 percent during the quarter, compared to 5.5 percent in 2016.
Fraudsters were targeting more transactions at higher values and volumes in the department stores and jewelry and precious metals sectors.
Higher-value transactions have a fraud rate almost 20 times higher than lower-value transactions.
Jewelry and precious metals products valued over $500 experienced 16.7 percent fraud rate, 5.3 percent for products valued between $100 and $500, and 2.3 percent for products less than $100.
The average chargeback for jewelry and precious metals online purchases was $693.
Birks Group net sales crept up .4 percent year on year to $286.9 million in the fiscal year that ended March 26, 2017. U.S. comparable store sales jumped 9 percent while Canada sales plunged 8 percent. Net income fell 9 percent to $4.9 million.
Higher timepiece sales and an expanded offering of select watch and fine jewelry brands drove the strong U.S. performance.
Difficult economic conditions in Western Canada and decreased spending by affluent tourists contributed to Canada’s sales decline.
The weakened Canadian dollar lowered net sales during the fiscal year.
Hong Kong-based jeweler Chow Tai Fook’s (CTF) revenue slumped 9.4 percent year on year to $6.57 billion in the year that ended March 31, 2017. Revenue grew 4.4 percent in the second half of the fiscal year, compared to a 23.5 percent decline in the first half.
Mainland China revenue slipped 7.9 percent to $4.03 billion during the year. Retail and wholesale sales dwindled 8.2 percent and 6.8 percent respectively to $3.12 billion and $859.4 million.
Hong Kong, Macau and other markets retail and wholesale performance fell 11.7 percent and 13.2 percent respectively to $2.8 billion and $118.9 million.
Retail sales of gem-set jewelry plunged 15.9 percent year on year to $1.4 billion.
Retail sales of gold products dived 6.2 percent year on year to $3.14 billion.
British luxury brand Theo Fennell has been rescued from administration with a management buyout by Enact, the small-and-medium enterprise division of private equity investor Endless LLP. The buyout was estimated at $6.5 million from BDO, the administrators.
Theo Fennell will continue operations at its flagship store in Chelsea, U.K., as well as its store in London.
Garry Wilson, who led the investment, said that the deal saved 31 highly skilled jobs, reported The Yorkshire Post.
Theo Fennell entered administration earlier in May 2017 and had been bought by private equity group EME Capital in 2013.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - July 2017. To subscribe click here.