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Pulse On: Succession Planning
In its Business Pulse survey for March, Jewelers of America surveyed jewelers about their plans for passing on the family business. How do our results compare with the situation at your store?
Of the family-owned jewelers who took JA’s survey in March, a total of 48 percent said they had no succession plan or planned to close or sell their business when they reach retirement age, while 40 percent said the next generation would take over.
New York--Jewelers of America’s Business Pulse survey shows that while a great number of jewelry stores are headed by individuals age 50 or older, many don’t have any type of succession plan in place.
Conducted in March, JA’s online poll was taken by a total of 204 retailers, and they were asked about succession planning as well as their sales for the month of January.
Of those 204 jewelers polled, 177, or 92 percent, reported that their jewelry store was a family-owned business.
The vast majority (83 percent) of those 177 family-owned operations said the owner of their business is over 50 years old.
Of that 83 percent, the greatest percentage of respondents--45 percent--said the owner is more than 60 years old while the remaining 38 percent reported that the owner is between 50 and 59.
A total of 14 percent of owners are reported to be between the ages of 40 and 49 while only 4 percent are 39 or younger.
The graying of the jewelry industry is not news.
RELATED CONTENT: Demographic drop-off
When the Jewelers Board of Trade released its final statistics for 2015, outgoing President Dione Kenyon cited the lack of a next generation waiting in the wings to take over the family business as the number one reason--albeit among many--that the number of jewelers closing their stores continues to rise.
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And, getting younger professional interested in careers in jewelry is currently a focal point for a number of organizations. MJSA has it “Be a Jeweler” program, while the Independent Jewelers Organization has launched a Millennial Advisory Board and U.S. Antiques Shows has “Antique Young Guns,” to name just a few. 
Still, succession planning remains an issue for many family-owned stores.
Of the 177 survey respondents who said they were in a family-owned business, 26 percent said they have no succession plan in place, while 22 percent said their plan is to either sell (11 percent) or close (11 percent) their business.
A total of 40 percent, meanwhile, said they do plan for the next generation to take over the store.
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The remaining percentage marked “other” and wrote in reasons including selling to staff, changing the business into a custom design studio and undecided.
Jewelers, are these results representative of the situation in your store? Tell us in the comments section below or email us at michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com.
National Jeweler is a for-profit subsidiary of Jewelers of America, though the two organizations act independently of each other. JA acquired National Jeweler from Emerald Expositions in February 2015.
Jewelers, are these results representative of the situation in your store? Tell us in the comments section below or email us at michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com.
National Jeweler is a for-profit subsidiary of Jewelers of America, though the two organizations act independently of each other. JA acquired National Jeweler from Emerald Expositions in February 2015.
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