According to data released by the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) and quoted by Rough & Polished, the shrinking of the US jewelry industry slowed in the first quarter of the year.
According to the report, the number of shops that closed dropped by 16%. 318 jewelry stores closed during the first quarter in 2017, compared to 380 during the same period in 2016. This, according to the report, “broke the trend of consistent decline in the industry’s size over the previous year”.
Most of this year’s discontinued businesses were still in the retail sector, which saw closings drop 13% to 250. Wholesale closures decreased 14% to 44, while manufacturing companies had 44% fewer closures at 24.
