Defying The Meme-JBT Q2 Data Shows a Healthy, Recovering Industry
Most of you would have no idea who the JBT is. They are the jewelry industry version of Dunn & Bradstreet. They compile vast amounts of data on the industry and are a credit reporting resource. A very reliable source.
For my part I can confirm the same from a manufacturers raw material source view. The sales of the master alloys used to turn 24kt into 14kt are certainly up in a moderate amount. Two years running. I went to the big show in Las Vegas in June and found the same overall. So we now have a matured global marketplace and American manufacturing is coming back at a pace that is sustainable.
By Michelle Graff
Jul 22, 2013
New York—The second-quarter data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) is reflective of an industry that is relatively healthy and is in step with the overall economy recovery, which remains slow but steady.
Business discontinuances are down, while the decline in the number of new jewelry businesses is slowing and claims are picking up—all signs JBT President Dione Kenyon sees as positive indicators.
Bankruptcies were unchanged for the quarter at 10 in total, but increased from 19 to 26 year-over-year. As she noted in the first quarter, Kenyon sees the rise in bankruptcies as simply a return to normal after reaching record-low levels.
In the U.S., the number of new jewelry businesses actually rose quarter-over-quarter and is down very slightly year-over-year.