H Samuel owner's sales plummet

H Samuel and Ernest Jones parent Signet said today that sales dived in recent weeks as consumer confidence tumbled on both sides of the Atlantic.

The group saw third-quarter UK and Ireland sales take a turn for the worse in the last three weeks as the economic downturn and global financial crisis took hold, dropping by 8% on a same-store basis.

H Samual has 10 outlets in Ireland and Ernest Jones has four.

In the US, where the group trades as Jared the Galeria and Kay Jewelers, like-for-like sales plunged by around 11% in the seven weeks to November amid “heightened consumer uncertainty”.