Holiday sales up nearly 8 percent for Sterling |
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1/12/2010 7:25:54 PM
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Akron, Ohio--Sterling Jewelers, operator of the Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry chains in the United States, saw same-store sales increase 7.6 percent during the critical holiday season, according to release issued by the company Tuesday.
During a conference call Tuesday, Terry Burman, chief executive of Sterling parent company Signet Jewelers Ltd., noted that the 7.6 percent increase came on the heels of a 16.4 percent drop in same-store holiday sales last year.
On a store-by-store basis, Kay Jewelers' sales rose 8.4 percent and sales at the higher-end Jared brand increased 8.6 percent, with sales at the latter buoyed by sales of the Pandora line of bead jewelry and a slight increase in advertising.
"The improved performance by Jared was particularly marked," Burman said.
Sterling also experienced continued strength in its differentiated collections, namely its various Le Vian collections as well as the a€?Love's Embrace,a€? and a€?Open Hearts by Jane Seymoura€? collections, and The Leo Diamond. These collections, together, should account for about 20 percent of U.S. sales in fiscal 2010, the company said.
Same-store sales for the company's regional brands rose only 2.3 percent, and Burman said the company plans to close 60 mall-based, regional brand stores, as these locations are under-performing as compared to Kay.
Like other retailers, Sterling saw more customers this holiday season but found that those customers were spending less. Burman said during the call that the average transaction price was down again this holiday season, falling 10 percent at Kay, 7 percent in regional brand stores and 4 percent at Jared, excluding sales of Pandora jewelry.
But all three formats saw an increase in the average number of transactions during the nine-week period ended Jan. 2, 2010.
Margins slipped for the specialty mass merchandiser during the holiday season, as Sterling aimed to please budget-conscious consumers.
"This reflected carefully planned and targeted promotions, and increased participation of merchandise where our supply chain advantages allowed us to provide additional value to the consumer," Burman said.
Sterling's total U.S. sales for the holiday season, defined as the nine-week period ending Jan. 2, increased by 7 percent. The fiscal-year results were not as strong: U.S. same-store sales fell 0.1 percent for the 48-week period ended Jan. 2 while total sales rose by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, same-store sales in the United Kingdom for Sterling parent company Signet Jewelers Ltd. declined by 0.8 percent during the holiday season, with total sales declining 0.7 percent at constant exchange rates.
In the 48 weeks to Jan. 2, same-store U.K. sales fell 2.2 percent while total sales increased 0.2 percent.
Including its U.S. and U.K. divisions, Signet Jewelers saw its same-store holiday sales increase 5.6 percent while total group sales rose 5.1 percent on a constant-exchange rate basis. In the 48 weeks to Jan. 2, group same-store sales fell 0.6 percent and total sales at constant exchange rates rose 0.5 percent.
Commenting on the company's outlook for fiscal 2011 (its fiscal year 2010 ends Jan. 30), Burman said the strategy remains largely unchanged.
Signet will be keeping an eye on maintaining margins, containing costs and inventory levels.
"While the economic environment has shown some improvement, it remains challenging," he said.
However, the company, which shed 114 jobs in the United States last year, doesn't have any major cost-reduction programs planned for the U.S. market, he said.
Signet operates a total of 1,933 jewelry stores in both the United States and United Kingdom. |
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