Diamond Sales Light Up Solid Season for Jewelers

[PinkDiamond]

Diamond Sales Light Up Solid Season for Jewelers
Rob Bates | December 29, 2015

"The industry had a few jitters coming into the holiday season, but overall it appears better than expected—particularly for diamonds and designer lines.

After surveying nearly two dozen jewelers, JCK found that few saw declines, and even those whose sales dropped didn’t have huge falls. But quite a few said sales were flat.

Among the trends we found this year:

- This was a last-minute nail-biting season, but in the end shoppers came through.

- As usual, jewelers griped that the weather hurt sales—but this year the problem was good weather, as unseasonably warm temperatures dampened the holiday mood.

- Gemstones and silver also did well, although JCK heard less about charm brands than in past years.

Here is what jewelers said:

Overall business

“The month of December was up by 16 percent. Just the month of December, though. The year is even.… People were less hesitant about purchasing. They didn’t buy a lot more, but they didn’t hem and haw over things; they didn’t ask for discounts.” —Chris Boillot, co-owner, Michael’s Creative Jewelry, Phoenix

“Tickets were up for the year and the month compared to 2014, by about 20 percent. So there were more people in the store, but our per-ticket number was down substantially. We’re on track to be flat with December 2014 by the month’s end.” —Bob Goodman, owner, Robert Goodman Jewelers, Zionsville, Ind.

“It was a great season for us, great energy from our clients who were excited about buying jewelry. We have felt a shift in excitement as the economy has improved, people were buying big gifts this year. More than anything, the sentimentality of the jewelry people purchased was high. There was lots of personalization this year, and people were really excited about the gifts they were buying.” —Erin Bitzan, co-owner, D.J. Bitzan Jewelers, Waite Park, Minn.

“We are at or above a year ago, not tremendously, but improved.” —Howard Diamond, partner, Fairfield Center Jewelers, Fairfield, Conn.

“My holiday season was great. People were happy. This year, October and November were slower, but overall, the year was a good year.” —Reba Pilibosian, owner, Birmingham Jewelry, Sterling Heights, Mich.

“December was even with 2014, but our calendar year will show a 15 percent increase [in sales]. Here in the Midwest, we are always conservative—we never have the extremes highs and lows. But our clients are feeling comfortable, which is a good thing.” —Tom Wright, co-owner, Wright’s Jewelers, Lincoln, Neb.

“My clients were highly motivated. And they were getting their own gifts, along with Christmas gifts. They were in a generous mood. The response from men in the area was truly overwhelming; in Barrow’s history I’ve never seen such enthusiasm.” —Lisa Barrow, co-owner, Barrow’s Jewelers, Toledo, Ohio

“We’re up a healthy 20 percent from 2014…. The unemployment rate in Colorado is very low, the consumer confidence level is high. There are a lot of people who fly in and go skiing. It’s an upbeat atmosphere. The one drawback is that the price of oil is lower, and we do have some ties with oil and oil prices. So some of the oil-field guys who [usually come] in did not come in.” —Troy Thollot, co-owner, Thollot Diamonds & Fine Jewelry, Thornton, Colo. ..."

The article is quite extensive, and covers:
What they bought
What they spent
When they bought
Marketing and promotions
Looking ahead
http://www.jckonline.com/2015/12/29/dia ... -306540353