IDEX Online Research: U.S. Specialty Jewelers Face Tough Competition
November 29, 11(IDEX Online) – U.S. specialty jewelers face intense competition from a vast array of other merchants who sell fine jewelry. Newly updated data from the U.S. Department of Commerce suggests that there are roughly 143,600 stores where consumers can purchase jewelry.
Of those 143,600 stores, only about 19 percent were specialty jewelers in the survey period. While those specialty jewelers still account for the vast majority of all fine jewelry sold in the U.S., the number of other merchants selling jewelry continues to climb while the number of specialty jewelers is falling.
Clearly, the fine jewelry business is shifting away from smaller independent merchants. Based on recent data from National Jeweler’s Supersellers list for 2010, chain jewelers are taking market share from independent specialty jewelers, but so-called “non-traditional” sellers of jewelry – Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, Costco, and others – are taking market share from all specialty jewelers, including chains.
Earlier this year, we published high-level preliminary data about which merchants are selling jewelry in the U.S. market. The U.S. Department of Commerce, as part of its Economic Census, has just released more detailed data. It shows that the number of jewelry “doors” is higher than previously reported – 143,600 versus a preliminary number of about 138,000. Further, the sales levels have been adjusted modestly.
Here is the latest data from the Department of Commerce. It is unlikely that there will be further adjustments for this survey period.
Source: US Dept. of Commerce |
The base data for this table was derived from the Census Bureau’s 2007 Economic Census. The Economic Census is taken every five years; data is released very slowly over the five-year period following the census.
For the jewelry industry, the final data will be available in this month, almost five years after it was collected. The next Economic Census will be taken in 2012, and data for the jewelry industry will begin flowing in about 2015. That’s the American tax dollars at work (very slowly!).