Bridal jewellery, including engagement rings, wedding bands, and anniversary bands, accounts for around half of Signet’s sales. In a recent interview, CEO Virginia Drosos said the company viewed fashion jewellery as an opportunity to increase digital sales.
She said that online sales accounted for 23 per cent of total revenue, with a chance that figure could rise as high as 40 per cent.
“We have the biggest opportunity to grow our market share in lower-priced fashion jewellery and self-purchases in and out of malls,” she told the Wall Street Journal.
“Think about women buying jewellery under $500 for themselves. We would be looking at both M&A [mergers and acquisitions] and/or organic growth to expand our presence in that category.”
She added: “A higher percentage of fashion jewellery sales happen online than companywide. Fashion jewellery is really everything other than bridal jewellery. So online, consumers primarily buy earrings, pendants, bracelets, gold chains and fashion rings.”
In 2023, Signet forecast a 10 per cent increase in engagements in the US. That forecast has been lowered to a projection of between 5-10 per cent. Drosos said that consumers remain cautious amid an adverse economy and continue to delay major purchases.
Drosos also detailed plans for a shift away from shopping centres. Signet currently has around 2,700 stores.
“Three years from now, it is likely we will have even fewer mall stores and more off-mall stores. Over the last several years, we saw that off-mall stores are more efficient, have higher sales per square foot, and are more profitable than in-mall ones,” she explained.
In recent weeks, Signet Jewelers has also detailed new approaches to lab-created diamonds and recycled gold.
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