US Jewelry Business Closures Rise in First Quarter

The US jewelry industry’s downsizing rate picked up steam in the first quarter, according to the latest data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).

Some 178 companies exited the sector during the three months that ended March 31, compared with 133 in the same period a year earlier, the JBT reported last week. In total there were 22,965 companies active in the US industry at the end of the quarter, 3.2% fewer than the same period last year.

Of the businesses that discontinued operations, 12 dropped out due to mergers or takeovers, while 166 closed for other reasons. None went bankrupt during the period. Meanwhile, the number of new businesses slid to 94, versus 113 the year before.

Retailers still constituted the bulk of the sector, at 17,442 — down 3.1% year on year. The wholesale trade slipped 3% to 3,316, while the manufacturing industry contracted 3.8% to 2,207 businesses.

The organization, which provides credit information for the trade, downgraded 727 companies’ credit ratings across the US and Canada during the quarter, as opposed to 858 a year ago. Meanwhile, it raised the scores of 717 businesses, compared to 828 in the first three months of 2023.