(IDEX Online News) – Three publicly held jewelers have reported November-December Holiday sales: Tiffany, Birks Group and the Signet Group. Luxury jeweler Tiffany reported sales that were weaker than expected. In contrast, luxury jeweler Birks Group reported a very strong sales gain. Signet’s US division, Sterling Jewelers, reported respectable results.

 

Overall, total US jewelry industry holiday sales gains (November-December 2014) are expected to be no greater than 2 percent. Therefore, Tiffany probably lost a little market share in the US, while Birks and Sterling gained market share.

 

The following is a summary of these jewelers’ November-December 2014 Holiday sales trends for their stores in the US market.

 

Tiffany: Americas Region – Total sales flat; same-store sales down 1 percent.

o   Fashion gold jewelry sales strong, but most other categories were soft.

 

Birks: US same-store sales advanced by a robust 11 percent

o   The average transaction rose.

o   Sales of high-dollar branded watches increased.

o   Renovated stores boosted overall sales gains.

 

Signet: Sterling and Zale stores both posted moderate single-digit sales gains.

o   Sterling division total sales up 4.2 percent; same-store sales up 2.5 percent.

o   Branded bridal jewelry and selected diamond collections were strong.

o   Lower price-point fashion jewelry demand was weak.

o   Kay Jewelers total sales up 5.8 percent; same-store sales up 3.4 percent

o   Jared total sales up 5 percent; same-store sales up 1.5 percent

o   Regionals sales down 13.6 percent; same-store sales down 1.8 percent

o   Sterling Online sales were up 20 percent, excluding Zale Online.

o   Zale US same-store sales up 3.3 percent.

o   Zales Jewelers same-store sales up 3.8 percent.                      

o   Gordon’s same-store sales down 2.4 percent.

o   Diamond jewelry – bridal and fashion – was strong.

 

Other sources report significant sales variability by category. Some jewelers noted that brands were strong, but LGI Network reported that branded jewelry sales declined by 9 percent in November.

 

Online sales were strong across the board: preliminary reports show online sales of all merchandise were up 12-15 percent. We do not have reliable data for aggregate online jewelry sales for November-December, despite some “early” reports.