|
|
US Jewelry Stores Closing at Slower Rate
Apr 24, 2017 9:14 AM
By Rapaport News
|
|
|
RAPAPORT... The shrinking of the US jewelry industry slowed in the first
quarter, as the number of shops shutting their doors dropped by 16%, according
to the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).
The decrease in jewelry store closings around the country —
318 compared with 380 during the same period in 2016 — broke the trend of
consistent decline in the industry’s size over the previous year, data from the
JBT showed last week.
The only regions of the US to continue that trend were the northwest
and southwest, where a greater number of businesses shut down than in last
year’s first quarter, the trade body explained.
In 2016, the number of US jewelry businesses ceasing
operations leapt 54% to 1,669 — mainly in the retail category.
Most of this year’s discontinued businesses were still in
the retail sector, which nonetheless saw closings drop 13% to 250. Wholesale
closures decreased 14% to 44, while manufacturing companies had 44% fewer closures
at 24.
The improvement came amid a 0.2% year-on-year increase in
sales at US jewelry stores during January and February, which amounted to $4.41
billion, according to separate data from the nation’s Census Bureau. During
February, sales declined 2.3% to $2.58 billion.
In the broader US retail sector, some 2,880 brick-and-mortar
stores have closed so far this year, compared with 1,153 in the same period of
2016, according to a Credit Suisse report earlier this month. The bank
estimated the number could rise to 8,640 by the end of 2017.
The retail slowdown has been most evident amid large-scale
store chains struggling to compete with online sellers such as Amazon. J.C.
Penney announced in February that it would close 130 to 140 physical stores
this year, but later decided to delay the shutdowns by a month after shoppers
flocked to the designated stores.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags:
J.C. Penney, jbt, jewelers, jewelers board of trade, Jewelry, jewelry stores, Rapaport News, US jewelry stores
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|