Retailers, wholesalers continue to close up shop

Warwick, R.I.--The industry shrinkage recorded in 2014 has continued into the first quarter of this year, the latest statistics from the Jewelers Board of Trade show.

In the United States and Canada, a total of 250 retail jewelers/repairers, wholesalers and manufacturers ceased operations in the first three months of the year, up 40 percent from 179 in the first quarter of 2014.
 
Bankruptcies increased slightly, from 11 to 13, while consolidations were down considerably, from 54 in the first quarter 2014 to 28 in the first quarter 2015, a 48 percent drop.

In the U.S. alone, the number of retail jewelers, wholesalers and manufacturers that ceased operations was up 39 percent.

The most significant decline was in the number of wholesalers, with 35 ceasing operations, double the number that did so in the first quarter 2014. In addition, there were 191 retail jewelers that shut down in the first quarter, up 38 percent from 138 in the first quarter last year.

The JBT’s first quarter statistics continue a trend that began in 2014 and one that JBT President Dione Kenyon said they are seeing continue into the second quarter.

The trend is this: The jewelry industry in the U.S. and Canada is shrinking in size, with many discouraged by a still-sluggish economy, the difficulty of doing business today and with many family-owned institutions lacking a new generation waiting in the wings to take over the business.

Overall, the JBT’s total listings for the first quarter totaled 29,678, down nearly 3 percent from the same time last year.

Well-known names that announced their exit from the industry in the first quarter include Fragments, the showroom and retail store Janet Goldman opened in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood 30 years ago, and Samuel Gordon Jewelers in Oklahoma City, a 111-year-old business.

Goldman told National Jeweler that the rents in SoHo became untenable for her business, while 67-year-old Gary Gordon wanted to retire. His son, Dan, is in the jewelry business too but works at The Diamond Cellar in Columbus, Ohio.

More recent store closures include Towne Jewelers in Winston-Salem, N.C., which Ken Pope owns with this wife Marsha.

Towne has been in business since 1955; Ken Pope acquired the business from his uncle, Richard Pope, 15 years ago.

Today, the 53-year-old says, he’s just tired. “I’ve been at it for 15 years and it gets more and more difficult each year.”