H.Samuel Knocks Off 50% on Valentine’s Day Sets

Three weeks to Valentine’s Day, and jewelry retailers are looking for ways to recover some of their lost Christmas sales. In its efforts, UK jeweler H.Samuel is discounting it’s a range of jewelry items by 50 percent. It is also going after women buyers ready to propose to their man.

H.Samuel is discounting a wide range of items, from low 9 karat white gold cubic zirconia earrings to their higher end offering of white gold charm bracelets set with 0.15 carat diamonds. Most of the items are priced between £9.99 to £124.50 ($13.79 - $171.75).

Reportedly promoting a less than popular segment, H.Samuel launched a collection of titanium engagement rings set with diamonds for men. Part of its Valentine’s Day efforts, the retailer said it is filling a need after noticing a rise in the number of women that asked to buy engagement rings for their future husbands.

Parent company Signet reported UK same store sales declined by 10.9 percent in the 2008 holiday season, with total sales dropping 33.4 percent on a reported basis and by 9.7 percent at constant exchange rates. The average selling price was up in H.Samuel. 

The average retail price of merchandise sold in H.Samuel during 2007/08 was £44 ($60.70). It serves the core middle market and its customers typically have a household income of £15,000 to £40,000 ($20,700 - $55,000).

H.Samuel is the largest specialty retail jewelry brand in the UK with a 6.5 percent share of the total jewelry market with £256.7 million in sales in fiscal 2007/08. It accounted for 14 percent of Signet group sales in the past fiscal year.