Sales surge for UK jewellery chain

Jewellers H Samuel and Ernest Jones today signalled the continued revival of its UK brands as the group posted a second quarter sales rise of 6.6%.

The like-for-like leap follows a marked turnaround for the UK chains, which have previously struggled after reporting a £28m (€41m) fall in profits for the year to January 2006.

Ernest Jones was the second quarter’s star performer, with sales up 9% on a like-for-like basis in the 13 weeks to August 4, while H Samuel saw trading up 4.4%.

Signet said sales were particularly strong in June, which comes despite the turmoil faced by many other retailers amid the floods across the UK over the past two months.

But Signet’s US arm, which accounts for almost three-quarters of sales, saw a weaker performance, with like-for-like growth of 2.2% in the quarter.

The US business, comprising the Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry brands, has failed to match UK trading since the start of the year and has dragged down overall performance.

Total group like-for-like sales grew by 3.4% over the past three months, or 3.2% since the start of the year.

Terry Burman, group chief executive of Signet, said the division traded well “against the background of a challenging retail environment”.

The US figures were broadly in line with expectations, according to Seymour Pierce analyst Andrew Wade.

He added the surge in UK sales had come as a surprise, however, particularly given the extreme weather in June and July.

Signet has been revamping stores in the UK to help improve performance since the profits slump in 2005.

Signet has 575 stores in the UK, including its Leslie Davis outlets, and 1,350 in America.