Jewelry Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 14,000 jewelry stores in the US sell fine jewelry, silverware, watches, and clocks. As opposed to costume jewelry, fine jewelry generally contains some type of precious metal or gemstone. Companies may also create custom jewelry or provide repair services.
Seasonality Challenges
Jewelry sales are highly seasonal, and December is an exceptionally important month because of holiday gift giving.
Expanding Competition
Jewelry stores have lost market share to a variety of channels, including department stores, mass merchandisers, online retailers, and catalog and TV retailers.
Industry size & Structure
A typical jewelry store operates out of a single location, employs fewer than 9 workers, and generates $3 million in annual revenue.
- The jewelry retailing industry includes about 14,000 companies that operate 19,000 stores, employ 123,000 workers and generate about $46 billion annually.
- The jewelry industry is somewhat concentrated, as the 50 largest firms account for 45% of industry sales.
- Large companies include Signet Jewelers (Zales, Kay Jewelers, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry), Fred Meyer Jewelers, and Helzberg Diamonds.
Industry Forecast
Jewelry Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jan 11, 2025 - Gold Prices Driving Silver Jewelry Growth
- According to a recent report in The New York Times, jewelers are seeking out silver jewelry products as gold prices reached record levels. While silver costs approximately $30 an ounce, the price of gold was about $2,600 an ounce in December 2024 after peaking at $2,800 an ounce in October. The report found that some jewelry designers have turned to silver to make sizable and intricate pieces that would be cost prohibitive if made in gold. The lower cost of silver allows jewelers and consumers to prioritize design and creativity, according to one boutique jewelry store owner who has seen sales of silver items jump in 2024. According to Eric Gozenput, CEO at precious metals seller Bullion Exchanges, the shift to silver has influenced not only fashion trends but cultures such as India where buying gold jewelry is a deeply rooted tradition.
- Retailers are facing a nearly 30% increase in the rate of returns compared to last year, which could cut overall profit margins on the industry’s $1.2 trillion in global sales, according to Salesforce data reported in PYMNTS. Shoppers have already returned $122 billion in merchandise, per the report. According to Salesforce’s Consumer Insights Director Caila Schwartz, “Retailers had a robust holiday season, but a 28% rise in the rate of returns compared to last year is a cause for some concern.” AI tools are expected to be important in minimizing revenue losses on returns and reengaging with shoppers, per Schwartz. Returns volumes have increased in part due to the growth in online shopping and shopper practices such as “bracketing,” involving ordering multiple sizes or variations with the intention to return unwanted items, according to Hannah Bravo, head of Loop Returns. She said retailers are taking different approaches to managing returns such as offering longer return windows, charging fees related to item returns, and letting customers keep low-value items instead of returning them.
- Swiss exporters are expressing concerns about president-elect Donald Trump’s proposed import tariffs for a number of industries, according to Reuters. Economists from the KOF Institute at ETH University in Zurich estimate that Swiss economic output could be reduced by up to 1% if a trade war is generated from the proposed tariffs ranging from 10% to 20%. The Swiss watch, precision instruments, food, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and appliances industries will suffer significantly from higher tariffs, according to the study. The United States is the biggest market for Switzerland’s export-oriented economy, accounting for nearly 20% of all good exports in the first nine months of 2024, per the report. Any new tariffs may take up to a year to pass through the government so impacts may not be felt until 2026.
- Fewer jewelry stores closed in the third quarter of 2024, according to data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) reported in InStoreMag. During Q3 2024, 130 stores exited the sector, a 7% decrease from the same quarter a year ago. Of the stores that exited the sector, one went bankrupt, 27 closed due to mergers or takeovers, and 102 closed for other reasons. The number of new businesses during the quarter rose to 92, compared to 68 a year earlier. The total number of companies active in the US in the third quarter was 22,699, which is nearly 770 fewer than the previous year's third quarter. Retailers accounted for 17,213 of the industry, a decline of 3.2% year over year.
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