Sparkle goes out of Signet sales

H Samuel and Ernest Jones jeweller Signet today provided more evidence of belt-tightening by its consumers after seeing recent sales go into reverse.

The group, which has 602 stores and a 17% share of the UK market, warned there had been a “marked deterioration” in the general trading environment.

Unveiling annual results, Signet said UK like-for-like sales rose 3% in the year to January 29, but then dipped into negative territory – by mid single digits – as it also came up against tougher year-on-year comparatives.

The company’s US division, which features 1,156 outlets, increased same-store sales by 5.9% in the financial year and has seen the rate in the current quarter come in a “little ahead” of the previous three months.

The stronger performance in the US, where Signet runs Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, has helped keep group-wide first quarter like-for-like sales in positive territory. Shares rose 2% today.

Overall, profits for the year to the end of January rose by 12% on constant exchange rates to £210.3m (€307m), a gain of 5% when the impact of the weak US dollar is included in the figures.

Chief executive Terry Burman said the US arm had “out-performed its main competition” while the UK division posted a “good performance in an increasingly difficult market place”.