Signet Jewelers’ CEO, Virginia Drosos, addressed a decline in sales for the fourth fiscal quarter, linking it to heightened consumer awareness regarding the decreasing prices of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs), as reported by IDEX Online.
In an analyst call, Drosos emphasized, “I think that consumers are becoming more aware that lab-created diamond prices are falling. And so while they might be great for fashion jewelry, there’s something very, very rare and individual about a natural diamond. And so we think that that is a potential tailwind for natural diamonds in the year ahead.”
During this period, Signet’s sales witnessed a 6% year-on-year decrease to $2.5 billion. Notably, there was a slight dip of 0.6% in the average transaction value in North America, while other regions experienced a significant 10% decline.
Drosos highlighted that sales of lab-grown diamonds make up a “teens percentage” of Signet’s total revenue. However, the company’s strategy to incorporate more lab-grown diamonds into the fashion jewelry segment yielded positive outcomes during the holiday season. Nevertheless, Signet anticipates a “mid-single digits” downturn in the overall jewelry industry for the current year.