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265 US Jewelry Retailers Closed in the First Quarter

The rate of closings increased considerably.

Published

4 years ago

April 16, 2020

INSTORE Staff

The Jewelers Board of Trade reported that 265 U.S. jewelry retailers closed their doors in the first quarter of 2020.

That number represented a significant increase from 100 closings in the first quarter of 2019.

The total included 223 retailers in the category of “ceased operations” as well as 38 “consolidations (sale/merger)” and five bankruptcies.

The total number of U.S. jewelry businesses that closed, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 322. That was an increase from 125 in the first quarter of 2019.

Meanwhile, JBT reported that 37 new retailers opened their doors in the U.S., down from 48 in the first quarter of 2019.

The total number of new jewelry businesses, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 46. That was down from 57 new businesses in the year-ago quarter.

JBT listed a total of 18,388 jewelry retailers in the U.S. as of the first quarter of 2020, down from 19,151 in the same quarter a year ago.

The group listed 24,280 jewelry businesses in all, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. That was down from 25,349 in the first quarter of 2019.

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When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”