Synopsis: What will you learn from this report?

The objective of the State of the Industry Report (SOIR) is to establish how many jewellery stores operate in Australia and compare this with data from previous reports to develop an understanding of the evolution and future of the industry.

Since the release of the landmark report in 2010, Jeweller has continued to monitor and measure changes in the industry over the past 13 years.

This included noting expansion and contraction within specific categories and the rise and decline of industry trends.

The complexities associated with compiling such a report are wide-ranging and varied. To measure something, it must first be defined, and in an industry as diverse as jewellery retail, creating objective criteria is an arduous task.

Every business documented by this report sells jewellery and/or watches, including fine jewellery and fashion jewellery stores; however, unsurprisingly, many differ in minor but significant ways.

To develop and collate the data in a consistent manner, creating definitions for different categories must be clear to guarantee that meaningful comparisons and insights can be measured.

Since the 2010 report, the consumer market and, therefore, the industry have evolved dramatically, including how people view and define jewellery products.

There are a few crucial ways this report differs from those in the past, which are important to understand.

‘Flagship stores’ are no longer an important consideration in the State of the Industry Report. During the research phase, it became evident that the criteria associated with a particular store’s ‘flagship’ status are too unclear to be measured.

Any store can be labelled the ‘flagship’ of the business; however, the nature of these stores differs greatly from business to business and brand to brand.

Indeed, many have remained true to the original definition – the largest store with the strongest marketing presence and the widest range of products. Others appear to be described as ‘flagship’ stores based on location alone and do not differ significantly from other stores.

While the 2010 report attempted to identify retail kiosks separately – mainly because of the large number of franchised watch battery and repair businesses in shopping centres. Most of those no longer exist, and we now include kiosks as retail stores, or at least in the store counts. 

An important note impacting any comparison between 2010 and 2023 data is the reclassification of Pandora from a brand-only store in 2010 to a jewellery chain.

The distinction is vital because Pandora was, and remains, both a supplier to the wider jewellery market and a prominent retailer of its own brand.

Brand-only stores are largely vertical market operations.