A very close friend of mine is in the business and has a few family owned stores in Calgary and I have learned a lot as I have always been a curious consumer as well.
A lot of the "chain" style stores you find in a lot of the malls are owned by larger companies operating under a different umbrella for various tiers of jewelry. Think entry level, mid tier and higher end stores. It's no difference in business model than other stores where different brands are all owned by larger companies.
A lot of different stores and the family owned ones are competing against each other as not every store has access to every line of jewelry or brands. Some stores have exclusive access for example to Gucci, Rolex, Omega etc and others are more aligned with Breitling, Movado and specific wedding and bridal bands. Hypothetically if someone was looking for a specific brand of engagement ring they may need to shop at a one store and if they wanted to purchase some designer jewelry for things such as watches, bands, special engraved pens, cufflinks etc they may need to shop elsewhere.
The business is rapidly changing and the brick and mortar stores aren't doing great in some ways. A lot of younger people in my age group (33) don't value jewelry as much as our parents and grandparents did and we surely don't spend as much money on it as they may have. For better or worse a person my age may spend $1500 a year on having coffee out but would think it's absurd to spend $1500 on a watch for themselves or for a girlfriend or wife on their anniversary with earrings or a pendant etc
A lot of times people will proudly wear, gift or propose to someone with pieces that were handed down from family. Thing of grandma's diamond ring or your grandfather's or fathers now "vintage" watch but it's not an item they would purchase themselves but in a lot of ways, isn't that the point of jewelry? Buying something nice that may mean something and may last generations is what it should be all about. A vintage Omega or Rolex from the 60's is really cool in a lot of ways and can be handed down. How does one hand down a 2017 Apple Watch in 2040?
Just some thoughts
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