Signet Jewelers Ltd. shares jumped after the Kay Jewelers owner said sales are recovering from a disappointing holiday season that led Wall Street to slash expectations for the retailer.
The modest revenue trend is welcome news for the sector. Many executives have struck a cautious note about US consumer discretionary spending because of uncertainty about the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The shares gained 17 percent in trading before US markets opened Wednesday. They had lost 40 percent this year through Tuesday’s close.
Signet, which also owns the Zales and Jared chains, warned Wall Street earlier this year that holiday sales were worse than expected, in part because its brands didn’t offer enough gold jewellery or lab-grown diamonds in the $200-to-$500 price range that shoppers were looking for. On top of that, the number of engagements has been recovering more slowly than the company anticipated following the pandemic. Bridal sales account for about half of Signet’s annual revenue.
The company said Wednesday that it took steps to address those shortfalls. “We increased our depth of assortment at key price points while also benefiting from improved bridal trends,” Chief Executive Officer J.K. Symancyk said in a statement. That led to a January rebound, with “growth across all categories” so far in the quarter, said Symancyk, who took over in October and previously served as CEO of PetSmart Inc.
The company sees revenue of $1.5 billion to $1.53 billion in its fiscal first quarter, according to the statement. The average estimate compiled by Bloomberg is close to the low point of that range. The company also expects e-commerce sales and revenue from stores that have been open for at least a year to be flat to up 2 percent in the period. The average of three analyst estimates is near the midpoint of that range.
To boost revenue growth at Signet, Symancyk wants to expand the company’s dominant share of bridal jewellery sales in the US, while seeking faster growth in fashion jewellery, where it has lagged behind.
“We have historically been so focussed on our core in engagement that we’ve missed some of those opportunities to connect with customers,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
“If we can be trusted to sell you that piece of forever jewellery, then we ought to be more relevant for that piece of jewellery that may only last a season or for a season of your life,” he said.
To increase Signet’s share of fashion jewellery, Symancyk is restructuring the company. He said he’s centralizing some of the ways the company merchandises and markets its products to purchase more in bulk from suppliers, for example, increasing economies of scale and lowering costs. Those functions have been almost completely decentralized and controlled by the individual brands until now, he said.
Tariffs
The owner of Kay Jewelers and Zales isn’t as exposed as some other US retailers to higher tariffs since less than 10 percent of the merchandise it imports comes from China. Nearly half comes from India, a country that hasn’t been targeted with recent, specific tariffs.
Symancyk also said economic headwinds don’t play a major role in dissuading consumers from getting engaged, so Signet’s main source of revenue won’t face as much of a hit if consumers pull back on discretionary spending.
“Do I — or don’t I — buy an engagement ring isn’t necessarily tied to some of these short-term inputs,” he said.
Signet is also looking to reduce its reliance on shopping malls. Chief financial officer Joan Hilson said Signet will transition more than 10 percent of its mall locations “to off-mall and the e-commerce channel over the next three years.”
Fiscal year revenue will be from $6.53 billion to $6.8 billion, Signet said. Analysts have projected a total that’s closer to the top of that range.
The company also increased its quarterly cash dividend by 10 percent to 32 cents a share, which is above estimates.
By Jeannette Neumann
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