Headlines

Silver Jewelry Is Surging: Are You Cashing In?

Published

8 years ago

April 7, 2016

INSTORE Staff

Retailers reporting growth in the category.

Silver jewelry sales remained strong in 2015 with 60 percent of jewelry retailers reporting increased sales, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the Silver Institute’s Silver Promotion Service (SPS).

The results of the survey show that silver jewelry continues to be an important category for many retailers, both in driving sales and providing margin.

Highlights from the 2015 survey include:

The average growth in 2015 for silver jewelry sales was 15 percent.

Retailers said their silver jewelry sales, as a percentage of their overall jewelry sales, were on average 35 percent of their unit volume and 27 percent of their dollar volume.

Forty-five percent of retailers said silver experienced the best turnover rate in 2015 followed by diamond jewelry at 22 percent, bridal at 17 percent, and gold and platinum at 4 percent.

Eighty-seven percent of retailers say they are optimistic that the current silver surge will continue.

“The Silver Promotion Service was obviously gratified by what the survey demonstrated,” says SPS Director Michael Barlerin. “Silver’s outstanding performance was the result of multiple inter-related factors, including the fact that 57 percent of retailers reported they had increased their inventory on average of 21 percent.”

The survey, conducted by National Jeweler/Jewelers of America, was fielded in February and March of this year. This was the seventh consecutive year that SPS has conducted such a survey.

The Silver Promotion Service, introduced in 2008 by the Silver Institute, aims to develop and implement programs designed to enhance the image of and stimulate demand for silver jewelry in major international markets.

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.”