U.S. jewelry store closings fell by 26% in the first quarter of 2023.
The Jewelers’ Board of Trade reported that 113 jewelry retailers closed their doors in the quarter.
That number represented an decrease from 153 closings in the first quarter of 2022.
The total included 95 retailers in the category of “ceased operations” as well as 17 “consolidations (sale/merger)” and one in the bankruptcy category.
The total number of U.S. jewelry businesses that closed, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 133. That was a decrease from 187 in the first quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, JBT reported that 82 new retailers opened their doors in the U.S., down from 113 in the first quarter of 2022.
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The total number of new jewelry businesses, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, was 113. That was down from 152 new businesses in the year-ago quarter.
JBT listed a total of 17,887 jewelry retailers in the U.S. as of the fourth quarter of 2022, down from 18,336 in the same quarter a year ago.
The group listed 23,583 jewelry businesses in all, including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. That was down from 24,162 in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
