Jewelry Business Closure Rate Slows

RAPAPORT... US jewelry companies are shutting their doors at a slowerpace, as the number of businesses leaving the sector declines by nearly two-thirds,according to the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT). The number of jewelry businesses exiting the market dropped64% in the first quarter versus the same period a year ago, to 125. Retailersconstituted 100 of those - 65% fewer than last year, while the number ofwholesalers leaving fell 55% to 14. The manufacturing trade lost just 11companies, as opposed to 30 a year ago, based on data the credit-informationprovider released last week. Most of the companies that quit the industry were notinvolved in any financial failure, takeover or merger. Only six went bankrupt -a 4% decrease over last year - while the number of consolidations dropped 33%to 30. Meanwhile, the JBT recorded 57 new business openings,compared to 62 during the same period in 2018. The total number of recorded jewelry businesses slipped 3.2%in the first three months of the year, compared with the same time last year.Some 25,037 stores were operating in the first quarter as opposed to 25,898 ayear ago. Image: A jewelry store window display. (Flickr)