If you want to give your loved ones jewelry or watches for Christmas, you’ll probably have to dig a little deeper into your pockets this year. The increased gold price in particular has an impact here.
“Yes, that has an effect,” said Guido Grohmann from the Federal Association of Jewelry, Watches, Silverware and Related Industries (BVSU). Overall, the industry is doing well despite slightly declining figures. As in retail in general, the Christmas business also plays a major role here.
Delivery problems here and there
“Germany is saving, but not on jewelry,” said Joachim Dünkelmann, managing director of the Jewelers’ Trade Association (BVJ) based in Cologne. The general buying mood and the buying mood for luxury goods are not identical. “We sell luxury goods that you don’t need for life, but for your soul.” According to the information, the number of units is falling. But the products sold are of higher quality and therefore cost more.
For watches, for example, demand is particularly stable in the upper segment with prices starting at 5,000 euros, said Dünkelmann. Despite falling demand in China, there are still occasional delivery problems for top brands.
Many customers don’t seem to be that interested in the rising price of gold – even though the gram costs twice as much as it did five years ago, said Dünkelmann. Others switched to platinum. “It’s dramatically cheaper right now.”
Simple but real
In general, “the loud and extroverted jewelry is no longer the focus.” It is often simpler, but is often set with real diamonds.
Despite rising prices and discussions about inflation and disposable income, customers are not limited to the upper ten thousand: it is still the broad masses who want to adorn themselves,” said Dünkelmann. The industry is more dependent on the mood than on the actual economic one Location.
According to his estimates, the industry could end the current year with a small loss of up to seven percent, which could, however, be compensated for in the figures by the high gold price. “But that’s not a catastrophe because the previous two years were real record years.” Compared to the pre-Corona period, the increase was 20 percent, said Grohmann. The BVSU analyzes imports and exports.
A similar picture emerges among jewelers: According to Dünkelmann, many are at the previous year’s level, some are slightly below. Sales growth in 2022 was very good at more than 20 percent despite war, inflation and the energy crisis. The level was maintained in 2023, “which no one would have thought possible given the crises in the world.”
Don’t worry about big break-ins
Many customers also came back to the stores after Corona, the online share is low. Jewelry and watches are personal products that people want to try on. “That’s what you want to feel. It doesn’t work so well on the screen.”
Jewelers are now more careful when purchasing, said Grohmann. This suggests that a lot of the stock is being sold. He did not want to give a forecast as to how long the trend could last. “I do believe that we don’t have the fattest years ahead of us,” he said. But the risk that things will now go steeply downhill is very low.
It is unclear what policy the new federal government will pursue, how the new US President Donald Trump will behave and how the situation in Ukraine will develop. “Uncertainty is not a good prerequisite for achieving record numbers,” said Grohmann. (dpa)