Signet Jewelers Sees Turnaround in Q1 With Sales Ticking Up 2%

Akron, Ohio—After struggling for several quarters, Signet Jewelers Ltd. saw sales grow in its first quarter as the company proceeds with its turnaround plan.

For the quarter ended May 3, Signet’s sales totaled $1.54 billion, up 2 percent year-over-year.

Same-store sales climbed 3 percent.

The results exceeded the company’s expectations of sales between $1.5 billion to $1.53 billion and same-store sales flat to up 2 percent.

“We delivered positive same-store sales growth each month of the quarter, and into May, by bolstering our offerings at key price points and continuing the evolution of our assortment,” CEO J.K. Symancyk said in a statement.

The company’s three largest brands—Kay, Zales, and Jared—saw sequential comp sales improvement from the fourth quarter on higher margins, he added, noting the result highlights the company’s “outsized focus” on its larger brands.

Kay, Zales, and Jared all reported double-digit e-commerce sales growth in Q1, and increased their sales per square foot by nearly 5 percent year-over-year, Chief Operating and Financial Officer Joan Hilson said on the company’s earnings call Tuesday morning.

Symancyk noted on the call that its fashion jewelry segment saw success within the key gifting price-point range of $250 to $500.

The company increased Average Unit Retail (AUR) in both bridal and fashion jewelry, he said.

Notably, Signet’s sales of lab-grown diamond fashion jewelry were up 60 percent in the quarter, Symancyk said.

Zales recently introduced the “Stellar Allure” lab-grown diamond jewelry collection and the “Whimly by Zales” collection, which offers stackable designs at accessible price points.

The jewelry giant, which ranks No. 1 on National Jeweler’s 2025 $100 Million Supersellers and Top 50 Retail Chains lists, is in the midst of its “Grow Brand Love” turnaround plan, announced during its last earnings call in March.

The plan includes leadership changes, store closures and renovations, and a focus on brand loyalty.

Signet’s banners in North America include Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers, as well as Peoples in Canada. In the U.K., Signet’s stores include Ernest Jones and H. Samuel.

Its reorganization is “substantially complete,” Symancyk said during the call, adding the company is actively recruiting for leadership roles and plans to announce a new chief marketing officer later this quarter.

“While we’re in the early innings of Grow Brand Love, our strategy is already driving growth in both bridal and fashion,” he added.

Zales recently underwent a rebrand with the goal of encouraging younger shoppers to wear fine jewelry every day, not just on special occasions.

Symancyk said Jared will be launching a new fashion campaign this week that aims to differentiate the banner as “an aspirational luxury brand.”

In recent quarters, Signet was dealing with technological issues at Blue Nile and James Allen. 

While Blue Nile’s performance has improved, James Allen continues to underperform, Hilson said.

The company plans to take “aggressive action” to improve James Allen’s performance, including a refined marketing strategy and offering more finished product, as the brand is known for its customizable engagement ring offerings.

In the first quarter, Signet closed 14 stores and plans to close just under 100 this fiscal year, focusing on underperforming mall locations.

It renovated 40 stores in Q1, with plans to revamp an additional 160 stores this fiscal year.

During Tuesday’s call, Symancyk also gave an update on the tariffs situation.

“While the final outcome has yet to be determined on this topic, we’ve taken action and positioned ourselves for agility,” he said.

Most of what Signet sells are imported, finished goods, he said, and it sources from a variety of countries, including India and China.

India represents about half of its imports while China is in the high-single digits, he said.

He added that the company believes it would be able to move most of its Chinese manufacturing to other areas or bring in alternatives from other countries ahead of the holiday season.

Looking to the year ahead, Signet is increasing its guidance in light of its positive performance in Q1. 

“Our refined promotional strategy and inventory management delivered both gross merchandise margin and adjusted operating margin expansion in the quarter with sales improvement outpacing inventory growth,” Hilson said.

The retailer is now expecting full-year sales of $6.57 billion to $6.80 billion, up from its prior guidance of $6.53 billion to $6.80 billion.

Same-store sales are expected to be down 2 percent to up 1.5 percent, compared with its prior guidance of down 2.5 percent to up 1.5 percent.

For the second quarter, the company is expecting sales of $1.47 billion to $1.51 billion, with same-store sales down 1.5 percent to up 1 percent.

Hilson noted that the updated outlook reflects the current macro environment and tariffs and assumes that Signet will stay on track with its cost savings initiatives.

“I don’t want to call it a victory one quarter in,” Symancyk said. “We were pleased with the progress.”