Look Book

by Peter Smith Consultant to Jewelry Suppliers and Retailers Sales Training Masterclasses –– Sales Team Breakfast Discussions –– Executive Coaching –– Hiring Workshops –– Managers' Meetings –– Keynotes P E T E R S M I T H TheRetailSmiths@gmail.com R E T A I L F O C U S P SYCHOLOGISTS TALK about the power of change during temporal landmarks. If we want to start a new habit, we wait until next Monday. If we want to implement a new policy, we look to the first of the month. e most significant time-based landmark, however, is the first of a new year. ere's a magic that comes with January 1st, that few other dates carry. If you had a good year, you anticipate the momentum carrying into the new year. If you had a disappointing year, you get the opportunity to reset. Either way, there is something liberating about the change of calendar and the chance to go again. ere can be little doubt that 2025 was a strange year. Despite runaway gold prices, tariff mayhem, and the continued emergence of lab grown diamonds—now accounting for 55 percent of center stones at independents—retailers largely had a positive year. ere were exceptions, including household names who shut their doors aer losing Rolex. It was a different proposition on the supplier side, with tariffs and gold prices causing mayhem. Again, there were exceptions; many semi- mounting suppliers did well as lab-grown centers consumed less of the available dollars. It was a less rosy picture for natural diamond suppliers. e challenge there will be to spend less time trying to defend historical positions and more time creating real value with finished and curated stories. Failure to do so will likely result in continued erosion of market share. While the decades-long decline in retailer foot-traffic was paradoxically offset by higher average tickets (see tariffs and gold prices), it remains to be seen how that dynamic will play out in 2026. I'm advising my retail clients to get busy creating the conditions that lean into higher price points for the new year. at includes more strategic hiring, nuanced compensation plans, and training designed to improve actual sales efficiency, not endless narratives on product specifications. While I remain cautiously optimistic about physical retail for 2026, the evidence more broadly points to a three-lane highway going down to two lanes. Retailers who straddle the middle lane of attempting to compete on price and quality will likely find themselves being squeezed out of a bifurcating market. Independent retailers have much to be optimistic about. ey are closer to the customer and can pivot faster to her needs. ey can hire and train the best sales teams, utilize and respond to real-time data analysis, partner with the right vendors to execute their vision, and create inspiring retail spaces that engage the customers' senses. Here's to a healthy and happy New Year! A NEW YEAR, A NEW BEGINNING

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