Signet Joins Industry’s Third Quarter Blues with Drop in Sales
November 09, 08
Signet Jewelers Ltd, the world's largest specialty retail jeweler, posted weak quarterly figures. Total sales were $629.4 million, down by 7.3 percent on a reported basis and a 4.3 percent decrease at constant exchange rates. U.S. sales totaled $467.2 million and UK sales reached $162.2 million.
 H.Samuel same store sales declined 1.6% in the third quarter |
Group same store sales declined by 6.6 percent in the period - declining 7.9 percent in the U.S., and 2.4 percent in the UK. Same store sales at H.Samuel were down by 1.6 percent and Ernest Jones saw them decline by 3.3 percent.
According to Group Chief Executive Terry Burman, the last seven weeks of the quarter “showed a marked deterioration reflecting heightened consumer uncertainty, and same store sales were down by about 11 percent.”
Meanwhile, The UK division did relatively well, outperforming the non-food retail sector on a same store sales basis. Until mid-October, the performance was broadly similar to that reported by the business for the second quarter but in the last three weeks same store sales declined by some 8 percent, Burman said in a release.