future of jewellery

36

A multifaceted future:
The jewelry industry in 2020

The trends that have unfolded in the apparel sector over the last three decades appear to be playing out in the jewelry sector, but at a much faster pace.

Linda Dauriz,
Nathalie Remy, and
Thomas Tochtermann

The jewelry industry seems poised for a glittering

To chart the most likely course of the jewelry

future. Annual global sales of €148 billion are

sector, we analyzed publicly available data,

expected to grow at a healthy clip of 5 to 6 percent

studied companies’ annual reports, and

each year, totaling €250 billion by 2020. Consumer interviewed 20 executives at global fine-jewelry appetite for jewelry, which was dampened by the

and fashion-jewelry companies and industry

global recession, now appears more voracious

associations. Our research indicates that five

than ever.

trends that shaped an adjacent industry— apparel—over the past 30 years are becoming

But the industry is as dynamic as it is fast growing.

evident in the jewelry industry as well, and at a

Consequential changes are under way, both in

much faster pace: internationalization and

consumer behavior as well as in the industry itself.

consolidation, the growth of branded products, a

Jewelry players can’t simply do business as usual

reconfigured channel landscape, “hybrid” con-

and expect to thrive; they must be alert and

sumption, and fast fashion. In this article, we

responsive to important trends and develop-

discuss how these trends could affect the future

ments or else risk being left behind by more

of jewelry and what jewelry companies should do

agile competitors.

to prepare.

37

Internationalization of brands and

The apparel industry is about ten times the size

Toko Ohmori

industry consolidation

of the jewelry industry as measured in annual

In the 1980s, national apparel brands were the

sales, but the average M&A deal