Signet Jewelers’ Q3 Sales Up Amid Continued Focus on Lower Price Points

Akron, Ohio—Signet Jewelers Ltd. reported single-digit sales growth in its third quarter, boosted by lower-priced jewelry offerings at its largest banners—Kay, Zales, and Jared.

Signet Jewelers CEO J.K. Symancyk said in Q2 that the retailer planned to deliver jewelry priced under $1,000, focusing on the lab-grown diamond fashion jewelry and men’s fashion jewelry categories for holiday gifting.

“Our balanced diamond assortment strategy, alongside ongoing stabilization in diamond retail prices, is driving growth and expanded average retails in both bridal and fashion,” Symancyk said in a press release issued Tuesday as the company’s announced its third-quarter results.

Merchandise average unit retail (AUR) was up 7 percent overall in Q3, including a 6 percent increase in bridal and an 8 percent increase in fashion (non-bridal) jewelry.

Chief Operating and Financial Officer Joan Hilson echoed Symancyk’s sentiments about the retailer’s new strategy.

“Our pricing and assortment strategies were effective in delivering merchandise margin expansion despite tariffs and higher gold costs,” said Hilson in the press release.

On the company’s earnings call Tuesday morning, Symancyk and Hilson discussed tariffs, best-sellers, and the important lesson learned from the previous holiday season.

For the quarter ended Nov. 1, Signet’s sales totaled $1.39 billion, up 3 percent year-over-year. Same-store sales were also up 3 percent.

The results exceeded the company’s expectations of sales between $1.34 billion and $1.38 billion, with same-store sales in the range of -1 percent to +1 percent.

Adjusted operating income nearly doubled to $32 million.

In the first nine months of the year, total sales are up 3 percent year-over-year to $4.47 billion, while same-store sales also have increased 3 percent.

Signet’s banners in North America are Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers, as well as Peoples in Canada. In the United Kingdom, Signet owns Ernest Jones and H. Samuel.

The company’s three largest retail chains—Kay, Zales, and Jared—posted 6 percent same-store sales growth year-over-year.

The retailer saw sales growth across all categories, including bridal, fashion, and watches.

In bridal, established designer collections, including Neil Lane, Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, were the bestsellers.

Kay, Zales, and Peoples posted high-single digit sales growth or better in bridal.

In fashion jewelry, Jared delivered 10 percent comp sales growth, with a strong performance in diamond, gold, and men’s jewelry.

The Italia D’Oro collection, a line of gold jewelry designed in Italy and exclusive to Jared, did especially well, Signet noted.

“We continue to see runway in the fashion category, particularly in lab-grown diamonds, which expanded penetration to 15 percent of fashion sales this quarter,” said Symancyk, who noted that is nearly double last year’s rate.

Sales in the services increased by high single digits, with Hilson noting nearly five years of positive comps in the category.

With the holiday season here, the retailer is also modernizing its marketing, said Symancyk, implementing a social and digital-first strategy, tapping brand ambassadors like “Saturday Night Live” star Chloe Fineman and “Ginny & Georgia” actress Antonia Gentry for its campaigns.

Symancyk highlighted Jared’s new traceable collection of natural diamond jewelry, “Storied Diamond Desert Sands of Eternity,” and the accompanying short film, “A Diamond Is Born,” which highlights the journey of a natural diamond, as another marketing focus going into the holiday season.

Coming off the weekend thought of as the official start to the holiday shopping season, Symancyk noted that the Thanksgiving weekend shopping isn’t as important to Signet as it is to other retailers. 

Its most important days are the 10 days leading up to Christmas, he said.

“I think we’re right to be guarded. We’ve got a customer who is going to be more intently focused on value as they come through the holiday season and our actions are really focused on that,” he said.

Symancyk said the company learned an important lesson last year; it didn’t have enough inventory in the under $500 and under $1,000 price categories.

It’s not making the same mistake this year, instead stocking five to eight times more jewelry in these categories, particularly in the lab-grown diamond fashion category.

As for tariffs, Symancyk said the retailer has mitigated a majority of the higher rates through strategic sourcing, merchandise margin actions, and changes to country of origin, as well as value engineering pieces.

The retailer is also continuing with its “Grow Brand Love” turnaround plan, which includes a focus on its biggest brands, leadership changes, and store closures and renovations.

“The reorganization under Grow Brand Love has empowered brand leaders to act swiftly on decisions that drive brand equity, fueled by a strengthened center of excellence that leverages our scale,” said Symancyk.

Looking ahead to Q4, Signet is expecting sales to total between $2.24 billion to $2.37 billion with same- store sales down 5 percent to up less than 1 percent.

Symancyk noted softness in sales at the start of November, pointing to issues related to the federal government shutdown and the temporary discontinuation of SNAP benefits.

“Our consumers are dealing with a lot,” he said. “[We’re] seeing that play out a little bit, most notably in the brands that have a greater density of lower- and middle-income customers.”

The retailer is raising the low end of its full-year guidance, which Hilson attributed to its “third quarter outperformance, further tariff mitigation efforts, and a measured outlook for the fourth quarter given external disruptions since late October and potential continued softness in consumer confidence.”

However, the retailer is remaining “prudent” in its guidance, said Hilson, noting lighter foot traffic in the past five weeks, particularly for brands with more exposure to lower- to middle-income households.

Signet is now expecting full-year sales of $6.7 billion to $6.83 billion, up slightly from its prior guidance of $6.67 billion to $6.82 billion.

Same-store sales are expected to be -0.2 percent to +1.75 percent, compared with its prior guidance of -0.75 percent to +1.75 percent.

“We are fully focused on the critical holiday selling period and we’re confident in our strategy and our team’s commitment to deliver results,” Symancyk said.

Signet Jewelers is the largest seller of fine jewelry in North America, ranking No. 1 on National Jeweler’s 2025 $100 Million Supersellers and Top 50 Retail Chains lists.