Signet Jewelers To Close Nearly 400 Stores

Signet Jewelers on Tuesday said that at least 150 stores in North America and 80 stores in the U.K. won’t reopen after closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of its fiscal year, the retailer will also close “at least an additional 150 stores,” according to a company press release. Signet runs about 3,200 stores under the Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda banners, and the JamesAllen.com website. The retailer said it’s accelerating a shift to an e-commerce focus. Digital sales in the quarter rose 6.7% to $164.7 million. Excluding the temporary closure of a James Allen distribution center, those sales grew 18.2%. But that did little to mitigate first quarter declines. Total sales fell 40.5% to $852.1 million, as store comps declined 38.9% year over year. Operating loss expanded to $291.1 million, or 34.2% of sales, from $2.6 million, or 0.2% of sales in the year-ago quarter. Read more at Retail Dive.