Kay Jewelers parent Signet fails to ring up growth as lab-grown rocks sparkle
He didn’t go to Jared… Signet Jewelers reported lackluster earnings yesterday. The parent company of Kay and Jared said its quarterly sales fell on the year. It also cut its guidance for its fiscal year. FYI: in the US, nearly 40% of engagements happen between November and February, with December being the most popular month for popping the question. But Signet says engagements are “less predictable,” and as of last year the number of knee-droppers had yet to return to pre-Covid levels. Just 2.1M couples got engaged last year, far below the prepandemic average of 2.8M.
Dinged: As Signet struggles to sell rings to fewer couples, its natural-diamonds biz has faced competition from lab-grown rocks, which it said have disrupted the industry.
The fifth C… might be “cultivated.” Lab-grown diamonds were virtually nonexistent before 2015, experts say. Now it’s estimated that nearly half the diamonds sold in US jewelry stores are made in a lab. As the average-sale price of natural diamonds rises, couples are increasingly opting for more affordable lab-grown stones that get them more carats for their coin. Signet hasn’t totally sat out the trend: in 2022 it acquired Blue Nile, which has an entire web section dedicated to lab-grown bling. But yesterday Signet said it’s struggled to integrate the company.
Costly carats: The average natural diamond sold for $6.6K this year, more than double the price of its lab-cultivated counterpart.
Diamonds may not be forever… at least not mined ones. Signet and luxury jeweler De Beers teamed up on an ad campaign this year to sell natural diamonds to a generation that didn’t grow up with “a diamond is forever” commercials. But natural diamonds are getting dinged as more folks opt for lab-grown options and alt rocks like morganite.