Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2011, during the economic crisis in Spain; the market picture of falling working-class demand, rising high-end sales and few jewelers selling online reflects that moment.
Jewelry purchases by working-class customers have fallen by as much as 40%, yet, ironically, the high-end jewelry business has seen sales rise during the crisis. Even so, as some jewelers point out, what they gain on one side they lose on the other: they are still exposed to serious security risks, and insurers have raised premiums for the trade.
Jewelry shops have little choice but to cut prices and keep innovating, and in many cases to supplement their business with costume jewelry, which is now in much higher demand.
Another market and business idea for the trade is second-hand jewelry, aimed at working-class buyers and people who are unemployed.
A final alternative is selling jewelry online, since few jewelers use the internet to promote their products in other parts of the world.
In short, whether because of the constant need to innovate, the pressure to lower prices or security concerns, jewelry may not be one of the best businesses to start at the moment, unless you go into the “high-end” segment.
Further reading
- How to start a business with no money
- How to manage a small business in times of crisis
- How to improve your business’s sales in three steps
- How to attract your business’s first customers
Featured image: Pos Lam Wrowury Uemkpoa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
