As 2019 eased into spring, retailers began to perk up after the year’s slow start. Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day didn’t offer much reprieve, but store owners said the holiday hadn’t been good for jewelry sales in a long time. The good news was that March was looking up, and as warmer weather began to creep across the country, customers began to thaw out and traffic started to flow again. The coming months seemed to offer the possibility of better sales and, if nothing else, more sunshine.
The New York view
The year began with sluggish sales and slow traffic in the Big Apple, but picked up as spring drew near. “2019 got off to a slow start,” said Ken Leung, founder of Ken & Dana Design in New York. “It’s strange to think that the government shutdown could have affected us, but that’s how it felt. February has since bounced back, and March is off to a busy start. [But] I never make projections or prognostications. The market is beyond my control, and I’d rather focus on the things that I can control.”
Valentine’s Day was not a big event for Leung, whose store focuses on engagement rings. Furthermore, the nature of his business — custom work — meant that trends were not particularly impactful, either. Even so, he said he was seeing clients asking for more fancy-cut center stones, and more specifically oval, marquise and pear shapes.
“Clients are also more adventurous with their wedding-band pairings,” he said. “No longer are they a clone of the engagement-ring band, but instead more fanciful complements to the engagement ring.”
The outlook elsewhere
Early 2019 was also lackadaisical in the midwest, according to Joe Strong, co-owner of Waterfall Jewelers, which has two locations in Michigan. “Our first three weeks of 2019 were down 70%, and traffic was horrible,” he said. “But the last 10 days of January were awesome, and we ended the month 42% up, year on year.”
Strong wasn’t sure what had caused the drop or the subsequent pick-up, but suggested it might have been related to stock-market concerns. “December 2018 fizzled out toward the end, and that had a lot to do with the stock market,” he said.
Further south, business was better. “We started 2019 out great,” said Lorraine Barker, co-owner of Barker Diamond Company in Nashville, Tennessee. “January was actually a busy month for
us. A lot of it was repairs and that kind
of thing.”
Barker said she was glad for the rush, because 2018 had been rough. “Last year was not the best year for us. We’re dealing with online shopping, and our store is heavily bridal, so these other kinds of sales, gifting and anniversary, we haven’t gotten. And we’ve never been a big fashion place.”
Valentine’s Day: No big deal
Like Leung, both Barker and Strong said Valentine’s Day wasn’t a major event in terms of sales. “It’s never been a big thing around here,” said Barker. “We had our regulars pick something up, and we had a good month in February, but Valentine’s Day wasn’t a big thing for us.”
Strong explained that jewelry just wasn’t popular as a Valentine’s gift. “It’s more of a flowers-and-chocolate-and-go-out-to-dinner holiday,” he said. “My parents used to say it was huge, but since I’ve been in
the business, for 10 years, it’s never been that big.”
Cautious forecast
Strong said the trade was in a state of flux. “I’m feeling cautious. Technology is huge, and giving the customer an experience is important, and some of the smaller stores that can’t adapt are going to close. There will be fewer stores, and the good stores will expand and open larger stores.”
However, Barker said she had “learned over the years not to forecast — just take it and try to give everybody the best service we can. We’ve dealt with increased competition because Nashville has grown so much, and online continues to suck life out of the brick-and-mortars. But online can’t offer the kind of experience we can. And I don’t think we’re going away.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2019. To subscribe click here.