What Will Become of Retail Jewelry ( Coin ) Stores?
mrearlygold
Posts: 17,858 ✭✭✭
I added Coin to the title. What similarities do you see?
What Will Become of Retail Jewelry Stores?
In a study, 94 percent of respondents identified themselves as having an above-average sense of humor, wrote Rod Martin in The Psychology of Humor. It is a poignant reminder of the difficulty, perhaps even the impossibility, of being objective about one’s self or, for the purpose of this column, one’s business.
2016-Peter Smith
Peter Smith
I was reminded of that earlier this year as I flew back from a few days in Arizona, where I met and spoke with large numbers of retailer and wholesaler friends at two different trade shows.
Amidst the usual small talk was an undercurrent of uncertainty--occasionally exciting, more often unnerving--about where our respective businesses and our industry is headed.
The very day that I started writing this column there was yet another announcement of a jeweler closing his doors (two doors to be exact) for good. When I arrived in this country in 1983, there were about 40,000 points of sale for retail jewelry. Today, depending on exactly what you count, I expect that number is closer to 16,000. We are clearly in the throes of a fundamental shift in retail and few should be surprised that jewelry stores are taking it squarely on the chin.
Before this year is out, there is every reason to believe that many more jewelry stores will be gone. Some of those stores will be multi-generational, others will have been founded by the current operators. Some will be branded and others still will have existed, until they no longer could, on the strength of their custom work and the promise of great service.
Despite the major contraction of retail jewelry stores, few seem to believe that they will be next to bow out having, in many instances, survived for generations. I can’t help but remember one North Carolina retailer who used to boast that his grandmother had steered his business through the Great Depression, only for the business to finally close on his watch. The lousy lighting, low-energy staff and his own continuous admonitions of doom-and-gloom long forgotten, as he unceremoniously and unknowingly crafted his own demise.
At the opposite end of the spectrum there exists a quiet, mostly unspoken delusion that somehow things will eventually get better. We’ll somehow manage to overcome the economic headwinds and the customers will surely come to their senses and realize that the web is just no substitute for the myriad of great things that we can offer inside our brick-and-mortar stores.
Doug Stephens wrote a very compelling book last year, The Retail Revival. The book is a serious study of what retail might look like in the future and, quite honestly, it should be required reading for retailers and for any business that depends on retailers to make a living.
His basic premise is that retailers will have to make a very clear decision about what they want to be--either entirely and expertly price-driven, with all the attendant challenges of being the low-cost provider, or they must fully and completely embrace the high end of the landscape, with great quality, differentiated products delivered in a very focused way and a great customer experience.
Stephens argues that the space in the middle, where I believe the vast majority of retail jewelers reside, will, quite simply, go away. (On a trip to Ohio recently, I had one retailer tell me that his store’s mantra is to be “the best quality and the lowest price.” There isn’t enough head shaking to go around on that one, but he might be the poster child for that space in the middle.)
Whether Stephens is right in predicting that retailers will have to decide which end of the spectrum to operate, price or high-quality, is neither here nor there. Like him, there are a whole host of writers, academics, marketers and business people who will prophesize on future of retail and nothing but the future itself will reveal how right or wrong they were.
Fueled by my own endless curiosity on the topic, and by the many recent conversations about the future of retail jewelers, I felt compelled to write down some thoughts that you might find interesting as you consider your own business.
The list is not intended to be exhaustive; I will leave discussion of financials, real estate and the like to the many who are better informed than I on those matters.
And, I suspect, some of the topics may raise more questions than provide answers. They are, however, important discussion points, and if they provide some modicum of clarity on your strengths and/or weaknesses then I’ll consider the effort to have been worthwhile.
Lots More Here:
LINK CONTINUED
http://www.nationaljeweler.com/independents/retail-profiles/4124-what-will-become-of-retail-jewelry-stores
What Will Become of Retail Jewelry Stores?
In a study, 94 percent of respondents identified themselves as having an above-average sense of humor, wrote Rod Martin in The Psychology of Humor. It is a poignant reminder of the difficulty, perhaps even the impossibility, of being objective about one’s self or, for the purpose of this column, one’s business.
2016-Peter Smith
Peter Smith
I was reminded of that earlier this year as I flew back from a few days in Arizona, where I met and spoke with large numbers of retailer and wholesaler friends at two different trade shows.
Amidst the usual small talk was an undercurrent of uncertainty--occasionally exciting, more often unnerving--about where our respective businesses and our industry is headed.
The very day that I started writing this column there was yet another announcement of a jeweler closing his doors (two doors to be exact) for good. When I arrived in this country in 1983, there were about 40,000 points of sale for retail jewelry. Today, depending on exactly what you count, I expect that number is closer to 16,000. We are clearly in the throes of a fundamental shift in retail and few should be surprised that jewelry stores are taking it squarely on the chin.
Before this year is out, there is every reason to believe that many more jewelry stores will be gone. Some of those stores will be multi-generational, others will have been founded by the current operators. Some will be branded and others still will have existed, until they no longer could, on the strength of their custom work and the promise of great service.
Despite the major contraction of retail jewelry stores, few seem to believe that they will be next to bow out having, in many instances, survived for generations. I can’t help but remember one North Carolina retailer who used to boast that his grandmother had steered his business through the Great Depression, only for the business to finally close on his watch. The lousy lighting, low-energy staff and his own continuous admonitions of doom-and-gloom long forgotten, as he unceremoniously and unknowingly crafted his own demise.
At the opposite end of the spectrum there exists a quiet, mostly unspoken delusion that somehow things will eventually get better. We’ll somehow manage to overcome the economic headwinds and the customers will surely come to their senses and realize that the web is just no substitute for the myriad of great things that we can offer inside our brick-and-mortar stores.
Doug Stephens wrote a very compelling book last year, The Retail Revival. The book is a serious study of what retail might look like in the future and, quite honestly, it should be required reading for retailers and for any business that depends on retailers to make a living.
His basic premise is that retailers will have to make a very clear decision about what they want to be--either entirely and expertly price-driven, with all the attendant challenges of being the low-cost provider, or they must fully and completely embrace the high end of the landscape, with great quality, differentiated products delivered in a very focused way and a great customer experience.
Stephens argues that the space in the middle, where I believe the vast majority of retail jewelers reside, will, quite simply, go away. (On a trip to Ohio recently, I had one retailer tell me that his store’s mantra is to be “the best quality and the lowest price.” There isn’t enough head shaking to go around on that one, but he might be the poster child for that space in the middle.)
Whether Stephens is right in predicting that retailers will have to decide which end of the spectrum to operate, price or high-quality, is neither here nor there. Like him, there are a whole host of writers, academics, marketers and business people who will prophesize on future of retail and nothing but the future itself will reveal how right or wrong they were.
Fueled by my own endless curiosity on the topic, and by the many recent conversations about the future of retail jewelers, I felt compelled to write down some thoughts that you might find interesting as you consider your own business.
The list is not intended to be exhaustive; I will leave discussion of financials, real estate and the like to the many who are better informed than I on those matters.
And, I suspect, some of the topics may raise more questions than provide answers. They are, however, important discussion points, and if they provide some modicum of clarity on your strengths and/or weaknesses then I’ll consider the effort to have been worthwhile.
Lots More Here:
LINK CONTINUED
http://www.nationaljeweler.com/independents/retail-profiles/4124-what-will-become-of-retail-jewelry-stores
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
0
Comments
Those that can accurately grade/price jewelry and coins will always be able to make a living, if only selling between professionals. The exception to that will be those who are skilled salesman and marketeers. They could sell jewelry, coins, or even new cars. There's always a place for them too. But like you said, the guys in the middle that aren't consummate technicians when it comes to grading/appraisals nor are they skilled sellers, will probably go bye bye.
I have to get this dig in while I'm thinking of it. My last transaction with one of the leading PNG coin dealers (both a tech grader and a good salesman) involved an MS66 seated half I was interested in. When asked what the price was he said "oh, that's priced at retail, you wouldn't want it." But I countered with, "I often pay retail for top coins." He then said, "but I want retail-retail for this one." And the discussion abruptly ended as I walked away. The irony of this situation is that I sold him a nicer PCGS MS66 seated half just before we discussed his coin.
So the future of retail is........... "retail-retail."
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I am thinking about getting ready to think about putting my two business on Facebook and servicing them at least weekly. Do you do any writing on that subject?
They have had a good run of huge markups with a heavily inflated diamond market.
That along with the perception that the average American must pay "three times their salary for a wedding ring" was a superb gift for credit agencies and pawn shops.
I have no sympathy for the buggy whip, either.
If coin dealers had been as smart ("a coin is forever") I'd have one hellava collection and a very happy wife.
No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left
I'm really not seeing the current young adult generation showing any desire to buy into traditional types of wedding and anniversary type jewelry purchases. Most of these hipster types would be more into a blacked out silver ring with skulls on it it or another low cost alternative that is cooler than a thin band and white crystal diamond. And with the costs associated with a large diamond, it gives light to creative alternative options. More attention being places in hair styles, hip glasses frames, fine threads and iPhones, and I watches. Just seeing folks being more into bohemian crafty type jewelry ornamentation over gold necklaces and such.
Personally, I've slathered my wife's jewelry box with hold and diamonds but have stopped in the last 10-12 years because she just won't wear it. Says it makes her feel uncomfortable wearing all that cash. Prefers to wear generic beads and such. I'm cool with that and now spend dough on less flashy things she would like.
On another note, we did buy a "used" diamond to rerock her wedding ring at a nice discount buying it at a my coin and bullion B and M. It actually came in his store in a bezel set mans ring. So he pays more than a jewelry store to buy and sells for less than a jewelry store. I'd say the future looks like this for a long time. There is plenty of diamond stock already out in the world to recirculate and satisfy the appetite of the dwindling amount of people who care. On top of that, my B and M says HE can pick up the phone and order any diamond you want and sell it under this wholesale plus 10% model if you need a fresh diamond or something specific.
You could not swing a Gutra without hitting a jewelry shop in downtown Kuwait City.
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...
No Way Out: Stimulus and Money Printing Are the Only Path Left
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNX5On5yDhT46OtnY5uIEth9nyaJBQGS8pd3FXPPAlEkZvlknjs6AjNA_epjkVFVg?key=MUVmZ0RxcjBSR3k4d0VNRmdGeFUwaUl1VEtGUGlB
https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNAIaSqPRMg72Om7F45Y7afv2oe9gSpiHfUtnra
You can make diamonds, either mine more or make from lab. We can't make more 19th century coins. There are different ways to "control" these two different market. For diamonds, Deebeer used to control un-polished diamond source and they made good money. I don't know how to control all new coin sources unless you can be exclusive Mint distributor but still these are not 19th century coins.
Colored diamonds are different story. You need to see it to decide the price. These are "toned coins" in coin industry. Rare Red, Violet, vivid Blue, Vivid Purple, Vivid Pink, Vivid Orange and Vivid Green diamonds are beautifully rainbow toned coins in our industry. Brown (nice word to name them is Champagne), Brownish-Yellow, Black diamonds etc are molted dark toned coins which oftenly traded below colorless diamond with same 4 Cs. 20 years ago, limited folks knew these colored diamonds because quantity is very limited. Every 1 million carat diamonds on earth could yield single digit carat color diamonds. No big promoter wanted to push them before. Right now, it is getting tough to run color-less diamond business. Colored diamonds are hot especially Arygle Pink. Take a look the Hollywood super stars. What did they wear when they are on Red Carpet. They set the trends.
For food retail stores, there are Wallmart vs. mom-and-pop. In coins, we have phone book auctions vs. coin show floor. In Diamond, it is Tiffany vs. B&M jewelry shops. Tiffany can control one large diamond mine and their fancy Intense and Fancy Vivid yellow un-polished stone cost was less than $1000 to about $1500-$1700 a carat. You can go to Tiffany store now and 1 carat fancy intense VVS yellow ring is about $20,000, and they don't carry round brilliant one. If you order one expect to pay 2X to 3X more. Since girls want the blue box, they survive well. (Hey, don't throw away the little blue boxes, you can easily sell them in eBay -)
My YouTube Channel
It's been years since I bought anything - a nice watch, out of state, best price, no tax.
My wife is low maintenance and doesn't care about shiny rocks.
My wife (50+) probably has 100, most are really nice, and many are inherited or gifts from older relatives
My daughter (25+) who makes solid 6 for an income, probably has 15 items, mostly gifts from older relatives. She would rather have a new snowboard or trip to Australia than a shiny rock or glittering metal.
When gold was north of $1700, my wife gave me gold chains, etc. that she no longer wore, and I had them melted at 98%. My mom also turned loose of 5.5 ounces of gold that she never wore, rings of deceased relatives, etc. It was all melted.
I have a wedding ring, that is my total.
The 3 women listed above, IMHO, indicate why jewelry shops are closing up
That, and Craigslist and Ebay. Why sell the bauble back to a jeweler for 15%, instead sell it directly for 40%, and everyone is happy.
What I have not found a market for is Ivory Jewelry. My grandmother lived in Japan, married to a Japanese national, for almost 35 years, and moved back to the US in 1982. She had a lot of ivory jewelry that she either bought or came from the Japanese side of the family. It is hard to market it, with the ivory ban. Some of this is over 100 years old.
I am not familiar with jewelry business or markups but I am sure maintaining a retail store and staff is very costly, consequently I can see at least a keystone markup (cost + 100%) or even more.
Bellevue Square.
Went shopping today and decided this thread is worthless w/o a picture!
Bellevue Square.
Nice corner location
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5