Coronavirus: Signet to Close One in 10 Stores
June 10, 20
(IDEX Online) - Signet, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry is to close more than one in 10 of its 3,200 stores after reporting Q1 total operating losses of $291m.
Most of its retail outlets closed during lockdown and almost two thirds have yet to re-open.
It says that to emerge as a "stronger and more efficient organization" from the pandemic it will have to close more than 380 stores in total - at least 150 in North America and 80 in the UK immediately, and another 150 by the end of the fiscal year.
Signet, whose brands include Kay Jewelers (pictured), Zales, Jared, James Allen, Peoples, Piercing Pagoda, H. Samuel and Ernest Jones, closed 13 per cent of its stores last year, pre-COVID-19, withdrawing from class B malls and closing its regional banners.
It said total sales for Q1 were $852.1m, down 40 per cent from $1.4 billion for the same period last year.
But with stores closed during lockdown, shoppers turned to online purchases instead, with eCommerce sales up 6.7 per cent to $164.7m.
Signet's online retail brand, James Allen, was forced to close its New York distribution center. Otherwise the eCommerce revenues would have been up 18 per cent.
Signet reported an improved performance for the last quarter of 2020, but said it would be borrowing $900m to tackle the uncertainty of coronavirus.