A Decade of Demise: Nine out of 10 Fashion Jewelers Close in Australia
July 21, 20
(IDEX Online) - A new State of the Industry report in Australia reveals that nine out of 10 stores that were selling fashion jewelry in 2010 have since closed.
Six of the seven chains that were then trading have either collapsed or moved entirely online, according to Jeweller magazine, which researched the report.
There were 378 fashion jewelry stores across the country in 2010, it says. Ninety per cent of them have since closed, among them the biggest of all - Diva, which had 176 stores.
Today there is just one chain of fashion jewelry stores. Lovisa is the "last man standing", with 140 outlets.
The fine jewelry sector has been, by comparison, far more resilient, showing a decline of 12 per cent in store numbers, from 977 to 859, broadly in line with a general demise in all retail.
Almost eight out of 10 fine jewelry stores are owned by just three companies, James Pascoe Ltd, Michael Hill and Pandora, which has lost two thirds of its outlets in the last decade.