South African billionaire Johann Rupert's Richemont just pushed Walmart out of the number two spot in North America's jewelry market

It takes 2,329 stores for Signet to lead North America's jewelry market. It took Johann Rupert's Richemont just 105 to claim second place.

National Jeweler's annual State of the Majors report, published May 20 ahead of the JCK Las Vegas show, confirmed Signet Jewelers as North America's largest jewelry and watch retailer by sales for 2025, with $6.36 billion in total revenue across its Kay, Zales, Jared and regional banner stores. But the more significant movement was one rung below: Richemont, the Swiss luxury conglomerate Rupert controls, reported $3.62 billion in North American watch and jewelry sales, overtaking Walmart to claim the second position for the first time.

The contrast in how the two companies achieved their numbers tells a sharper story than the rankings alone. Signet's $6.36 billion came from 2,329 outlets spread across North America's mass and mid-market jewelry segments. Richemont's $3.62 billion came from 105 doors, primarily Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin boutiques concentrated in major urban markets. The revenue-per-door differential is significant: Signet averages approximately $2.7 million per location, while Richemont averages roughly $34.5 million per door, a figure that reflects the unit economics of ultra-high-net-worth luxury spending.

Walmart's demotion to fourth place reflects broader shifts in North American retail. The category that Walmart occupies, mass-market fashion jewelry and entry-level watches sold alongside groceries and household goods, faces structural pressure from off-price and online channels. Richemont's ascent, by contrast, reflects the resilience of ultra-luxury spending, which has proved more durable than mid-market jewelry through successive economic cycles.

The overall superseller field expanded modestly, with 37 companies posting more than $100 million in North American jewelry and watch sales in 2025, up from 36 in 2024. Among other notable movements, Costco rose from sixth to fifth place as its gold and diamond jewelry business continued its rapid expansion, built on a model of warehouse pricing for high-value items. Pandora moved from eighth to seventh. Watches of Switzerland climbed from 11th to 10th. LVMH slipped from fifth to sixth, and Macy's dropped from seventh to eighth as the department store continued to manage a shrinking physical footprint. Swiss watch retailer Bucherer fell out of the top 10 entirely to 11th place, reflecting the ongoing turbulence following its 2023 acquisition by Rolex.

Richemont's North American performance lands as the company navigates its largest strategic test in years. Rupert's group is pursuing an initial public offering of Richemont's online luxury fashion platform, which encompasses Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter, and is simultaneously managing elevated expectations around its watch and jewelry businesses as Swiss watch export data has softened in several major markets. North America remains one of Richemont's most consistently performing regions, and the superseller ranking cements its position in a market it now commands with a fraction of the store count of its nearest peers.

The State of the Majors report covers jewelry and watch sales in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, with store counts verified as of Dec. 31, 2025.