ColumnistsSep 14, 2026
Sherry Smith: Stop Waiting for December to Save Your ChristmasThe stores that have a great December are the ones that made good decisions in August, September, and October, Sherry Smith writes.
EditorsJul 20, 2017
Analysis: Light’s Out at Signet
Editor-in-Chief Michelle Graff breaks down the chain of events that led to the departure of Signet Jewelers CEO Mark Light.
Signet Jewelers Ltd. announced this week that longtime executive Mark Light, who has been CEO since 2014, would retire at the end of the month and be replaced by Virginia “Gina” C. Drosos, who has been on the company’s board for five years.
Shortly after Signet’s March earnings call, I was on the phone with an industry colleague who said he believed that Mark Light’s days at the helm of the nearly $6 billion jewelry store chain were numbered.
His evidence: board Chairman Todd Stitzer’s backing of Light during the call. A member of any board indicating that the CEO’s job is secure, my colleague rightly observed, is generally a sign that it’s not.
So it wasn’t a shock when the news broke Monday morning that the 55-year-old Light would be retiring at the end of the month due to “health reasons,” with a company spokesman telling National Jeweler via email on Wednesday that while Light’s condition is not life-threatening, he has been hospitalized and has had a couple of “surgical procedures.”
There’s a lot to unpack surrounding the departure of Light, who spent his entire career at Signet, following in the footsteps of his father, Nate.
First, let’s start with Signet’s recent financial performance.
The company has seen comps fall for the last four quarters, and its performance this past holiday season was described as “disappointing” by management, with same-store sales down 5 percent in November and December.
Signet’s struggle with in-store sales is understandable, for a couple of reasons.
Number one, the company’s target demographic, the American middle class, has seen its buying power diminish.
RELATED CONTENT: Middle class problemsNumber two, the majority of Signet’s stores are located in malls, which are struggling to survive, particularly those that cater to middle-income Americans. At the close of 2017, the company had a little over 2,800 Kay, Jared, Zales and Piercing Pagoda stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. Of those, 1,955, or about 70 percent, were located in malls.
But what was perhaps more concerning this past holiday season was online performance. At a time when online sales can be a bright spot for brick-and-mortar retailers, Signet’s e-commerce sales slid 3 percent because, the company said, it had technical problems with some of its websites.
So you have a retailer with an eroded customer base, a lot of stores in the wrong places and websites that don’t work very well in an age when e-commerce is important as ever.
Then, you throw in a couple of huge public relations messes and questions from investors about your credit program (which Signet is now going to outsource), and it’s not hard to see why this massive chain
Editors' Picks
Sponsored by
is going to have a new CEO in less than 30 days and has essentially replaced all its senior management this year.
The most recent of these messes was The Washington Post’s February story detailing 1,309 pages of sworn statements from former male and female employees who told of a culture where women were discriminated against and sexually harassed.
Here’s the background on this story.
The declarations were part of an ongoing class-action arbitration first filed in 2008 in which female employees accuse the company of pay and promotion discrimination. The arbitration is ongoing and set to go to trial in March 2018.
Now--and Signet has emphasized this point over and over again--there are no claims of sexual harassment in the arbitration.
But the documents the Post reported on earlier this year were filed as part of the case; they had just been under wraps for years.
One of the stipulations of their release was that the names of any specific individuals accused of harassing conduct be redacted because they were not parties to the litigation. Yet there was one name mentioned in Post story--Light’s.
The Post cited a 2013 memorandum filed by the attorneys who represent the women in the pay and promotion discrimination class-action arbitration in which Light, along with a few other executives, are accused of creating a culture were women feel devalued and compelled to acquiesce to sexual advances in order to succeed, and for having sex with female employees.
The story garnered more than 700 comments and was widely covered, not only by the trade but also the consumer media, outlets like USA Today and NBC Nightly News.
A little more than a week after the Post story ran, Signet had its fourth quarter results conference call and Stitzer took the reins from Light, something I can’t recall happening in the nearly 10 years I’ve been covering the company.
For the first 26 minutes of what turned out to be an hour-and-15-minute-long call, Stitzer was on clean-up duty. He ran down the list of issues currently confronting the company, starting with the bombshell Post story, then credit issues and the allegations of stone-swapping at Kay stores.
This is also the call where, as I mentioned above, he pledged the board’s support for Light and the executive management team.
But Stitzer also said this: “Our board is very focused on management’s performance. During the course of a very challenging year, the board and I have become much more actively involved with the business, and we’ll continue this enhanced level of involvement.”
So it’s not at all surprising that the individual picked to succeed Light, Virginia C. Drosos, is a member of the board and not from Signet’s current, and now very much changed, upper ranks.
The most recent of these messes was The Washington Post’s February story detailing 1,309 pages of sworn statements from former male and female employees who told of a culture where women were discriminated against and sexually harassed.
Here’s the background on this story.
The declarations were part of an ongoing class-action arbitration first filed in 2008 in which female employees accuse the company of pay and promotion discrimination. The arbitration is ongoing and set to go to trial in March 2018.
Now--and Signet has emphasized this point over and over again--there are no claims of sexual harassment in the arbitration.
But the documents the Post reported on earlier this year were filed as part of the case; they had just been under wraps for years.
One of the stipulations of their release was that the names of any specific individuals accused of harassing conduct be redacted because they were not parties to the litigation. Yet there was one name mentioned in Post story--Light’s.
The Post cited a 2013 memorandum filed by the attorneys who represent the women in the pay and promotion discrimination class-action arbitration in which Light, along with a few other executives, are accused of creating a culture were women feel devalued and compelled to acquiesce to sexual advances in order to succeed, and for having sex with female employees.
The story garnered more than 700 comments and was widely covered, not only by the trade but also the consumer media, outlets like USA Today and NBC Nightly News.
A little more than a week after the Post story ran, Signet had its fourth quarter results conference call and Stitzer took the reins from Light, something I can’t recall happening in the nearly 10 years I’ve been covering the company.
For the first 26 minutes of what turned out to be an hour-and-15-minute-long call, Stitzer was on clean-up duty. He ran down the list of issues currently confronting the company, starting with the bombshell Post story, then credit issues and the allegations of stone-swapping at Kay stores.
This is also the call where, as I mentioned above, he pledged the board’s support for Light and the executive management team.
But Stitzer also said this: “Our board is very focused on management’s performance. During the course of a very challenging year, the board and I have become much more actively involved with the business, and we’ll continue this enhanced level of involvement.”
So it’s not at all surprising that the individual picked to succeed Light, Virginia C. Drosos, is a member of the board and not from Signet’s current, and now very much changed, upper ranks.
More on Editors
The Latest
AuctionsSep 14, 2026
22 Carats of ‘Sunshine’ Are Up for AuctionThe 22.09-carat fancy yellow “Pragnell Kimberley Sunshine Diamond” is part of the fall jewelry sale at Heritage Auctions.
IndependentsSep 14, 2026
Greenwich St. Jewelers to Unveil Photography Exhibition“Adornos: Jewelry, Memory & What We Pass Down” honors the jewelry’s importance to New York City’s Latine communities.
Brought to you by
Your Piece Could Be the One Editors Talk AboutSubmit your pieces for a chance to win in this year's competition.
SourcingSep 14, 2026
Gemfields Sells All Lots at First Emerald Auction in 9 MonthsThe company’s managing director of sales said the results demonstrate “continued strong demand for commercial-quality emeralds.”
Weekly QuizSep 10, 2026
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
SourcingSep 14, 2026
Diamonds Do Good Pledges Support for Eye Care ProgramThe nonprofit awarded a grant to the Gift of Sight initiative spearheaded by South African musician Black Coffee.
CollectionsSep 11, 2026
A Sapphire ‘Stardust’ Ring From Greenwich St. Jewelers The Latine-owned New York jeweler is marking two milestones this year: its 50th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Brought to you by
Why More Jewelry Retailers Are Hosting Turnkey Estate Buying EventsRetailers are seeking new ways to attract customers, increase traffic, and create revenue – Estate buying events are a popular solution.
MajorsSep 11, 2026
The Wishing Place by JTV OpensThe jewelry retail broadcast network has sponsored a new space for Make-A-Wish East Tennessee on its campus in Knoxville.
Events & AwardsSep 11, 2026
The Edge Awards Scholarships to 2 Young Jewelry ProfessionalsThe recipients were recognized at the 24 Karat Club of the Southeastern United States’ annual banquet.
MajorsSep 10, 2026
Lagos Founder Steven Lagos Steps Down as CEO Keith Rolfe, CFO and COO of Lagos, is now at the jewelry brand’s helm while Steven takes on the role of executive chairman.
CrimeSep 10, 2026
FBI Offers $50K Reward for ‘Most Wanted’ Fugitive in $1M Jewelry HeistAlberto Perez-Elias is one of four men charged in the armed robbery of a Cape Coral, Florida, jewelry store and remains at large.
AuctionsSep 10, 2026
Massive Matched Pair of Paraíba Tourmalines Head to Sotheby’sThe “Kat Florence Luminas” will be offered together as one lot and could fetch up to $637,000.
SourcingSep 10, 2026
AGTA Announces 4 Newly Elected DirectorsFour directors were elected to the AGTA board and will serve three-year terms beginning in February.
AuctionsSep 10, 2026
Former Sotheby’s, Christie’s Exec Appointed CEO of Julien’s Auctions Ken Citron joins the celebrity memorabilia-focused auction house ahead of its first week-long series of events in Abu Dhabi.
FinancialsSep 09, 2026
Signet Jewelers to ‘Double Down’ on Blue Nile Amid Strong SalesThe jewelry retailer said it sees opportunity at higher price points, particularly in natural diamonds for bridal and fashion.
IndependentsSep 09, 2026
Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers Closes After Nearly 80 YearsThe Los Angeles-based, family-owned jeweler was founded by Lenny and Sunny Friedman in 1946.
SourcingSep 09, 2026
Fura Gems Notes ‘Remarkable’ Interest in Larger Rubies at Latest SaleThe auction, held in Bangkok, was 96 percent sold by lot, with nearly 411,000 carats of Mozambiquan rubies sold.
MajorsSep 09, 2026
Stuller’s Latest Catalog Includes Its New Demi-Fine CollectionFine Jewelry 2027-2028 has more than 900 new styles, including silver, gold-filled, gold-plated sterling silver, and vermeil jewelry.
Policies & IssuesSep 09, 2026
8 Key Changes the FTC Made to the Jewelry Guides: A Refresher Learn more about the new terms for lab-grown diamonds and composite gemstones, and the major changes in store for precious metals jewelry.
IndependentsSep 08, 2026
Ricky Bromberg, Longtime President of Bromberg & Co., Dies at 67 Bromberg is remembered as a Southern gentleman who always wore a suit and tie and treated others with kindness.
TrendsSep 08, 2026
Amanda’s Style File: A Hot Take on September’s Birthstone With high durability and a wide range of colors to choose from, sapphires may be the ultimate birthstone, Gizzi claims.
ColumnistsSep 08, 2026
Peter Smith: Humor Is No Laughing MatterLaughter is often considered a distraction in the workplace, but it has benefits for both staff and management, Peter Smith writes.
MajorsSep 08, 2026
Former Tiffany & Co. Exec Joins Exemplar Luxury GroupGretchen Koback Pursel is the new chief people officer at the company formerly known as Saks Global.
IndependentsSep 04, 2026
Orloff Jewelers Will Soon Unveil a Bigger, Better LocationThe California jeweler is renovating its store in Fresno, with plans to show off the new space in December.
CollectionsSep 04, 2026
Chelsea Gabrielle Transforms Pilates Reformer Springs Into Ring A lifelong practitioner of Pilates, Gabrielle looked to the springs’ tension and suspension when creating this ring, our Piece of the Week.
Events & AwardsSep 04, 2026
JCK Industry Fund Accepting 2027 ApplicationsThe deadline to apply is Nov. 13.
