As 2018 hit its midpoint, jewelry stores that had been experiencing a weak start to the year saw sales and traffic improve. That said, reports coming after this year’s Las Vegas shows were mixed. Some retailers suggested only certain lines and vendors had seen real action at the show, as cautious buyers continued to keep inventory tight. One thing on which everyone agreed was that the push to compete online remained a big factor in retail, and that stores would need to shore up digital strategies in order to stay relevant as the year progressed.
New York: Upturn expected
In the city that never sleeps, 2018 sales have been decent, but not as good as they could be, according to Tara Silberberg, co-owner of The Clay Pot, which has two stores in New York.
“New York is a Wall Street town,” she said. “The stock market is strong and real estate is strong, and my customers don’t feel poor, but they feel depressed. If Hillary Clinton were president and all the other factors were the same, my business would be up 20%.”
Silberberg expects the year to trend up, though, barring any unpleasant surprises. “We had a pretty strong Mother’s Day, and that seems be a good predictor of the December holidays, unless something crazy happens,” she said. “If Democrats fail in November 2018, it’ll be like Election Day two years ago all over again.”
She reported seeing a lot of energy at the Vegas shows this year. “My people said that this was the best show they ever had. [Designer] Polly Wells literally sold out of jewelry. They had nothing left.”
Yet she was still grappling with online challenges.
“There have been a lot of advances made online,” she said. “It’s a lot for small stores like mine that don’t have a dedicated internet department. Millennials — the age range of people looking for engagement rings — just want to look at their phones and buy stuff online, and then halfway through the process, they realize they maybe should have a physical store involved. That’s where we have leverage.”
Record numbers
In Natick, Massachusetts, the year has been a mixed bag for Stew Brandt, owner of H. Brandt Jewelers.
“It’s been a very interesting year, which I anticipated,” he said. “Last year was one of the best years I ever had, then Christmas was only okay, and then the weather was awful, and the first quarter of 2018 was very quiet. But I planned for it, and it didn’t kill me. Then April was better, and May was a record month for us. June is sleepy, but it typically is. It’s been steady enough, and I don’t worry like I used to.”
Other stores reported record numbers right out of the gate.
“We’re up by close to 15%,” said Mike Lordo, president of Ladue, Missouri-based Lordo’s Diamonds, which serves the St. Louis area. “Typically, people in the midwest are more conservative with their money, and now they’re starting to let loose.”
Standard seasonal slump?
Brandt, who hasn’t gone to the Vegas shows for 20 years, expects the rest of the season to be slow.
“The summer is going to be sleepier than normal for the industry,” he predicted. “I heard a few reports out of JCK that there was a lot of tire-kicking, but not a lot of order-writing. I think people are trying to manage their inventories.”
Lordo said he used to go to JCK, but didn’t attend this year. Still, he was feeling positive about the year ahead.
“I think the rest of the year is going to be good,” he said. “May and June are typically when it starts to slump, and it’s been strong. We’re off to a great start, and I think it’s gonna be a good year. I’m really excited.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - July 2018. To subscribe click here.