Signet CEO: Fewer Stores, More Online Sales
July 30, 24
(IDEX Online) - Signet CEO Gina Drosos has outlined her vison of a company with fewer stores, more online sales, and a $9bn in annual revenue.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) she said she could see online sales, currently at 23 per cent, increasing to 40 per cent, though she didn't set a deadline.
Drosos (pictured), who has shut more than 900 stores since taking the helm in 2017 said the move away from stores in malls would continue, towards more profitable off-mall premises.
Signet currently has 2,700 stores - branded as Zales, Jared, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, Diamonds Direct, Blue Nile, JamesAllen.com, Rocksbox, Peoples Jewellers, H.Samuel and Ernest Jones - and is the largest jewelry business in North America.
At the moment its mall-based stores account for 40 per cent of Signet's revenue, she said.
She also said $9 billion in annual sales was "clearly within the three-to-five year range''. That would represent a 25 per cent increase on $7.17bn in fiscal 2024.
One of the biggest challenges Signet has been facing is the post-Covid slump in engagements, although the effects should be wearing off now, given that the average first date to wedding timeline is around three years.
"Using our data analytics, we have 17 million people in our database that we know are in a dating relationship but not yet engaged," Drosos told WSJ.
"We're personalizing marketing messaging sent as these consumers move along the path to engagement.
"We use AI and machine learning to provide the right information to couples at the right time during their journey."