Signet’s Comps Drop 2% Over Holiday Season

By Rob Bates | January 14, 2025

Signet Jewelers posted disappointing results for the holidays, with preliminary sales figures indicating its seasonal comps fell 2% from the prior year.

In early December, Signet executives had predicted comps would rise during the holiday season (which Signet defines as the 10 weeks ended Jan. 11, 2025), following a “high single-digit” increase in sales over Thanksgiving weekend.

“Engagement and service sales were within expectations, and we saw [average unit retail] increase in both bridal and fashion,” chief financial and operating officer Joan Hilson (pictured) said in a statement on Tuesday. “However, fashion gifting underperformed as consumers gravitated to lower price points even more than anticipated in a continued competitive environment. Merchandise assortment gaps at key gifting price points impeded our ability to meet that trend.”

Hilson said that while Signet logged some margin growth, it was “less than expected due to the lower fashion mix and a stronger customer response to promotional items.”

Noting “there were positives” during the holidays, CEO J.K. Symancyk—who took over in November—said in the same statement that Signet has “the opportunity to reshape our customer-facing strategies in the areas of marketing, product design, and assortment innovation.… We can build on our industry-leading position in bridal while dramatically accelerating our reach into the larger fashion categories of self-purchase and gifting to drive sustainable organic growth.”

The downbeat results caused Signet to lower its fourth-quarter sales guidance. Signet now forecasts fourth-quarter sales will come in between $2.32 billion and $2.335 billion, rather than the previous estimate of $2.38 billion–$2.46 billion. The company will announce fourth-quarter financial results on March 20.

The market reacted negatively to the news, with Signet’s stock trading at $55, down from the prior day’s close of $74.

(photo courtesy of Signet Jewelers)