Signet Jewelers Posts 5% Rise in Holiday Comparable Store Sales

(IDEX Online News) – Signet Jewelers Ltd., which operates stores throughout the United States and United Kingdom, reported that same-store sales rose 5 percent on the year for the holiday period of the eight weeks that ended on December 28.

Signet reported that same-store sales jumped 5.6 percent on the year at its Kay and Jared stores in the U.S., but comparable-store sales slipped 2.3 percent at its other brands, including Ultra.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, same-store sales surged 8 percent at Ernest Jones stores and increased by 3.3 percent at H.Samuel outlets.

Sales for the two-month period jumped by 7.7 percent to $1.28 billion, while ecommerce sales surged by 25 percent in the United States and 37.5 percent in the United Kingdom.

Signet CEO Mike Barnes said "additional discounting was necessary in a highly promotional retail environment that included challenging customer traffic trends and lower than anticipated commodity cost savings. We believe these factors will result in lower than expected gross margins and profitability versus our original expectations".

"We were pleased to deliver 5 percent same-store sales for the holiday season and were especially encouraged by both the improvement in the U.K. division and the strength of our ecommerce sales across divisions," Barnes added.