Closures are down, but so are openings.
The Jewelers Board of Trade reported that 195 U.S. jewelry retailers closed their doors in the second quarter of 2017.
That number represented a significant decrease — 42 percent — from 337 closings in the second quarter of 2016.
The total included 154 retailers in the category of “ceased operations” as well as 34 “consolidations (sale/merger)” and seven bankruptcies.
The total number of U.S. jewelry businesses that closed, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 235. That was a 49 percent decrease from 460 in the first quarter of 2016.
The number of new jewelry businesses also decreased in the second quarter.
JBT reported that 22 new retailers opened their doors in the U.S., down from 60 in the second quarter of 2016.
The total number of new jewelry businesses, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 25. That was down from 81 new businesses in the year-ago quarter.
JBT listed a total of 19,920 jewelry retailers in the U.S. as of the second quarter of 2017, down from 20,943 in the same quarter a year ago.
The group listed 26,396 jewelry businesses in all, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. That was down from 27,830 in the second quarter of 2016.