The consolidation of the U.S. jewelry trade continued in the third quarter of 2015, with closures jumping 25 percent over last year, according to statistics compiled by the Jewelers Board of Trade.
A whopping 276 U.S. jewelry businesses ceased operations in the third quarter of 2015, a nearly 25 percent leap from the 214 closures recorded in the third quarter of last year. That number includes retail jewelers, wholesalers, and manufacturers.
The main category of companies ceasing operations was retail jewelers. The JBT says 237 U.S. retail jewelers called it quits during this last quarter, up 42 percent from last year. So far, 599 U.S. retail jewelry stores have closed their doors in 2015, a 30 percent jump from the 455 closures recorded in 2014.
Some 31 jewelry wholesalers packed it in during the quarter, as did eight manufacturers.
U.S. business discontinuances—the overall JBT number that includes companies that ceased operations, consolidated (i.e., sale or merger), or declared bankruptcy—also jumped 25 percent in the last quarter, to 318. So far, the year has seen 844 U.S. jewelry business discontinuances, compared to 735 the prior year, a 15 percent increase from 2014, which also saw heavy consolidation.
On the bright side, 74 U.S. companies entered the industry in this past quarter, a 25 percent jump over last year. The number of companies joining the business has increased 3.7 percent for the year.
U.S. Companies Ceasing Operations
3rd Quarter, 2015 Year to Date, 2015
Retail jewelers 237 599
Wholesalers 31 94
Manufacturers 8 34
Source: Jewelers Board of Trade
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