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Signet Jewelers to Close 100 Stores, Shutter James Allen Banner
The jewelry retailer announced changes to its store network and brand portfolio during its fourth-quarter earnings call.
A campaign image from Signet Jewelers-owned banner Zales. Signet Jewelers announced changes to its brands and store network during its fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday, including shutting down its James Allen banner and transitioning it to a proprietary collection available at Blue Nile.
Akron, Ohio—Signet Jewelers reported essentially flat sales in Q4, the important holiday quarter, with modest growth in 2025.
The jewelry giant also announced changes to its portfolio, including around 100 store closures this coming fiscal year and its plans to shutter its mainly online retailer James Allen.
Signet released its final results Thursday morning after sharing its preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year results last week.
For the quarter that ended Jan. 31, Signet’s sales totaled $2.35 billion, flat year-over-year. Same-store sales were down less than 1 percent.
For the full year, sales were up 2 percent year-over-year to $6.81 billion, while same-store sales increased 1 percent.
“We delivered at the high end of our fiscal 2026 guidance range amid unprecedented tariffs, record gold costs, and a measured consumer,” said Signet Jewelers CEO J.K. Symancyk on an earnings call Thursday morning.
“As we started with positive sales momentum, fiscal 2027 will focus on accelerating core performance through sharper brand differentiation, broader customer reach, and a more seamless in-store and digital experience.”
The retailer said it saw sequential improvement each month during the fourth quarter, with a return to positive comps on peak holiday selling days that continued for the rest of the quarter.
The momentum continued into Q1 with a positive Valentine’s Day performance.
Merchandise average unit retail (AUR), meaning the average selling price for its products, was up approximately 5 percent in Q4 and 7 percent for the full year, with growth in both bridal and fashion.
As for diamonds, Symancyk said the industry saw growth in both natural and lab-grown, adding there continues to be an opportunity for lab-grown diamonds in the fashion category.
“We really see an opportunity for growth in both parts of the business. We see them as distinct value propositions for customers that even overlap with the same customer depending on use case,” he said.
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The jewelry giant also announced changes to its portfolio, including around 100 store closures this coming fiscal year and its plans to shutter its mainly online retailer James Allen.
Signet released its final results Thursday morning after sharing its preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year results last week.
For the quarter that ended Jan. 31, Signet’s sales totaled $2.35 billion, flat year-over-year. Same-store sales were down less than 1 percent.
For the full year, sales were up 2 percent year-over-year to $6.81 billion, while same-store sales increased 1 percent.
“We delivered at the high end of our fiscal 2026 guidance range amid unprecedented tariffs, record gold costs, and a measured consumer,” said Signet Jewelers CEO J.K. Symancyk on an earnings call Thursday morning.
“As we started with positive sales momentum, fiscal 2027 will focus on accelerating core performance through sharper brand differentiation, broader customer reach, and a more seamless in-store and digital experience.”
The retailer said it saw sequential improvement each month during the fourth quarter, with a return to positive comps on peak holiday selling days that continued for the rest of the quarter.
The momentum continued into Q1 with a positive Valentine’s Day performance.
Merchandise average unit retail (AUR), meaning the average selling price for its products, was up approximately 5 percent in Q4 and 7 percent for the full year, with growth in both bridal and fashion.
As for diamonds, Symancyk said the industry saw growth in both natural and lab-grown, adding there continues to be an opportunity for lab-grown diamonds in the fashion category.
“We really see an opportunity for growth in both parts of the business. We see them as distinct value propositions for customers that even overlap with the same customer depending on use case,” he said.
Signet’s banners in North America are Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers, as well as Peoples Jewellers in Canada. In the United Kingdom, Signet owns Ernest Jones and H. Samuel.
The company has been focusing on its three largest retail chains—Kay Jewelers, Zales, and Jared—with plans to continue evolving their product assortment and elevating the omnichannel customer experience.
The company plans to update its big three’s websites, finishing the project by Q3 just in time for the holiday season.
The retailer also plans to accelerate its store renovations, reaching 30 percent more locations this year, which adds up to about 10 percent of its store network.
Signet has been working to transition from a banner to brand mindset, looking to better differentiate its brands.
To reach that goal, it plans to bolster its marketing efforts and its social media presence, said Symancyk.
To better focus on its larger brands, Signet reviewed its portfolio and pinpointed ways to integrate select standalone brands into its larger brands, said Chief Operating and Financial Officer Joan Hilson.
Its Blue Nile brand serves a broad age range of more affluent customers, she said, and so Signet wants to evolve it into an elevated luxury brand with a focus on natural diamonds.
The James Allen brand will shut down by Q2, transitioning to a proprietary collection available at Blue Nile.
The company sees opportunities for its other brands to utilize James Allen’s customization technology.
It expects to see $60 million to $80 million in lost sales from the transition of James Allen, said Hilson.
Rocksbox, its former subscription model that transitioned to a traditional retail brand, will no longer be a standalone brand, and will instead operate via Kay Jewelers.
Hilson said the company will continue to evaluate the role of Banter, formerly Piercing Pagoda.
As for its U.K. brands and Peoples Jewellers, Hilson said they’re doing well and there are no current plans to sell them, noting that the cash generated from these brands, as well as the tax costs associated with exiting these markets, outweigh any potential sale proceeds.
Hilson also said the company had implemented an integrated diamond sourcing process to better manage its virtual diamond marketplace and elevate the natural diamond offerings for its brands.
As for its services category, the retailer’s jewelry service network is now able to provide custom services and jewelry repair, including B2B repairs.
Hilson said the retailer would be optimizing its store network in the fiscal year ahead, with plans for approximately 100 store closures. The company operates around 2,600 locations.
Looking to the year ahead, Signet said it expects first-quarter sales to be between $1.53 billion to $1.57 billion, with same-store sales up 0.5 to 2.5 percent.
For the full year, sales are expected to be between $6.6 billion to $6.9 billion, with same-store sales down 1.25 percent to up 2.5 percent.
The impact of tariffs and commodity prices is expected to be lower than the headwinds it navigated this past fiscal year, said Hilson.
The retailer also has more time to address these headwinds through price changes, reduced holiday discounting, assortment changes, and increased lab-grown diamond mix.
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