Only 34 new retailers opened.
The Jewelers Board of Trade reported that 174 U.S. jewelry retailers closed their doors in the third quarter of 2017.
That number represented a significant decrease from 327 closings in the third quarter of 2016.
The total included 146 retailers in the category of “ceased operations” as well as 22 “consolidations (sale/merger)” and six bankruptcies.
The total number of U.S. jewelry businesses that closed, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 228. That was a decrease from 416 in the third quarter of 2016.
Meanwhile, JBT reported that 34 new retailers opened their doors in the U.S., down from 49 in the third quarter of 2016.
The total number of new jewelry businesses, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 40. That was down from 63 new businesses in the year-ago quarter.
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JBT listed a total of 19,830 jewelry retailers in the U.S. as of the third quarter of 2017, down from 20,674 in the same quarter a year ago.
The group listed 26,246 jewelry businesses in all, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. That was down from 27,479 in the third quarter of 2016.