Major Jewelry Companies Report Sales Declines

Political uncertainty is a possible reason for the drop.

Stagnant oil prices, political uncertainty and a strong U.S. dollar are among possible reasons for a decline in jewelry sales, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sales declines recently reported by Tiffany & Co. and Signet Jewelers Ltd., which owns the Kay Jewelers, Zales and Jared chains. The article says Signet doesn’t attribute the drop to allegations that diamonds have been swapped out for lesser-quality stones at Kay. Meanwhile, Tiffany depends on foreign tourists, who are spending less because of the strong dollar. Quarterly revenue is down 5.9 percent, to $931.6 million, and at Signet it’s down 2.6 percent, to $1.37 billion.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal