I am looking for statistics and related “good” news on our industry
for my business plan. I have hit up the Census gov site and did a
search on these boards to get some more. I was trying to find some
"white pages" with some more on types of jewelry stores.
Like some that specialize in custom and any type of trends favoring
this type of business model as the primary focus, along with case
sales, repairs, appraisals, casting wholesale, etc. I guess I am
really looking to see if there is a demand for a smaller more focus
type business model vs. all of the chain stores.
I too have been researching and have found reports that do cost
rather a bit. However, JCK has some good data available in their
various issues. As to being a focused type store. I have seen first
hand some very successful one to two store operations in a chain
store age. There is a good book out there on marketing called “The
Purple Cow”, the author’s name evades me. It basically explains about
making yourself different. The success of any business is to fill a
need and most of all offer the best customer service. Also, study
businesses that are similar in scope to see what they do right.
The first place to check would be The Jewelers Circular Keystone at www.jckgroup.com
They do a yearly census for the Jewelry Industry. I am not sure
they will cover the exact target you are looking to cover but it is
you will most likely find useful.
To do a very specific research report for the you are
looking to cover, you may want to contact a university in your area.
Get in touch with a professors that teaches Business and Marketing.
They may be willing to do a class project that is specific to what
you want. If not they may be willing to have some of the students
contact. You might be able to hire the students to do the research
at a far lower cost than a Market Research company.
I am looking for statistics and related "good" news on our industry
for my business plan. I have hit up the Census gov site and did a
See my list of market research statistics sources at http://www.willitsell.com/cateref4.htm#Statistics. Not all are
online sources but if you’re looking for a loan making the effort to
dig them out and cite them should be worthwhile. (I recommend every
business plan have, available at least, an appendix with copies of
the appropriate pages, and their publications title and copyright
pages, that source numbers used in it.) Unfortunately, the more
detailed info you want the more likely that you’ll have to pay a
pretty penny to someone who has already collected it ($2,000-$3,000
is not unusual) or substantially more for someone to attempt to get
it just for you.
I live in Tucson were the gem show comes to town and it is a real
killer of jewelery business here I don’t even sell my work in
arizona because of the show. Opening a store is a big commitment I
have almost done it twice and I had a few hundred pieces all of them
made by me to fill the cases with. I have seen some stores open and
close real quick because of lack of inventory and then the ones that
had inventory had the same as every other guy up and down the street
so it turns into a race for the bottom who can discount the most
without going bankrupt. If you open a store and advertise custom
work then immediatly your showcases become a real expensive museum,
you will have to make everything a little different than what is in
the case just so they think theirs is special. I have been working
as a jeweler for 14 years not that long by most standards but i have
seen alot of stores fold up even when they had talented jewelers the
one thing they all had in common was they didnt own the building
they were in they are at the mercy of the landlord rents go up even
if business doesnt nowadays most places have overages that you pay
to the landlord anything over x amount of dollars a percentage goes
to the landlord if the landlord wants to make improvements he bills
them to the tennants. Buy your own building if at all possible, the
stores that have managed to stay in business that are not chaines
but independant all own thier own buildings. Plus it is easier to
sell the business some day if it comes with realistate or you can
rent it when you want to retire or better yet get a place that has
room for renters to help subsidise the mortgage on the building. I
dont want to rain on the parade but unless you got alot of money
behind you a jewelery store is a bad idea and if you did have alot
of money opening a jewelery store is a bad idea or a quick way to
loose alot of money. I do work for a store here in Tucson that has
been in business for over a century and they do real well the grand
father was a jeweler but the father