Jewelry Business Closures Rose in Fourth Quarter of 2024

By Rob Bates | January 16, 2025

Jewelry business discontinuances in the U.S. and Canada picked up in the final quarter of last year, rising 8% over the same period in 2023, according to the latest statistics from Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT), the Providence, R.I.–based credit rating group.

For the final quarter of 2024, JBT registered 161 jewelry discontinuances—companies that ceased operations, went bankrupt, or merged or were acquired. They comprised 122 retailers, 23 wholesalers, and 16 manufacturers. Three of those closures were in Canada; the rest were in the United States.

For the whole year, discontinuances jumped 14% from 2023, to 747. That breaks down to 601 retailers, 89 wholesalers, and 57 manufacturers. All but 27 of those discontinuances were in the United States.

In 2024, 642 of the discontinuances were store closings, 102 involved a consolidation, and three were bankruptcies. (JCK paid tribute to some of the longstanding jewelers that closed their doors in our annual roll call.)

The fourth quarter did see a rise in reported new jewelry businesses. JBT added 104 new jewelry business to its roster during the year’s final three months: 90 retailers, nine wholesalers, and five manufacturers. JBT had logged 81 new companies in the final quarter of 2023.

New-business stats for 2024 overall weren’t as positive. The number of North American jewelry businesses joining JBT during the year fell 3.1%, to 403—which encompassed 324 retailers, 58 wholesalers, and 21 manufacturers. Manufacturers showed the largest drop in new businesses, sinking 4.1%. The number of retailers declined 3.2%, and wholesalers fell 2.7%.

The overwhelming majority of 2024’s business entrants (397) were in the United States. All but one of the fourth quarter’s newly created businesses was in the U.S.

By region in the United States, the Northeast posted the largest number of new jewelry businesses in 2024. JBT reported 114 industry entrants in the Northeast; 94 in the Southeast; 65 in the South Central region; 63 for the Southwest; 41 in the North Central area; and 20 in the Northwest.

Overall, JBT logged 23,842 North American jewelry businesses at the end of 2024, a 3.2% dip from the 24,635 businesses it recorded at the end of 2023. The 2024 total breaks down to 18,071 retailers (17,124 of them in the U.S.), 3,495 wholesalers (U.S.: 3,284), and 2,276 manufacturers (U.S.: 2,155).

(Photo: Getty Images)