JNA July/August 2022 | 25 专题报道 Thriving in adversity Signet Jewelers Ltd, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, reported that its first-quarter 2022 revenues reached US$1.8 billion, up nearly 9 per cent compared to last year. Virginia C. Drosos, CEO and director at Signet, attributed the broad-based growth to strong sales mainly in the bridal jewellery category. “In our big businesses, we delivered more than US$80 million more in total bridal sales than in Q1 last year. Weddings are revenue drivers for Signet and an opportunity to establish lifetime relationships, not only with brides and grooms but entire wedding parties. They are a critical point of entry which we are capitalising on,” explained Drosos at a briefing after announcing the company’s Q2 2022 results. Joan Holstein Hilson, chief financial and strategy officer at Signet, added that Signet can meet its customers’ growing demand for high-quality and innovative product assortments at higher price points. Nearly all its “banners,” which include Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, Banter by Piercing Pagoda, Diamonds Direct, JamesAllen.com, Rocksbox, Peoples Jewellers, H. Samuel and Ernest Jones, delivered their strongest growth at price points above US$3,000 in both the bridal and fashion categories. “In bridal, growth included wedding and anniversary bands, reflecting this year’s 40-year high watermark for wedding. Our scale and tailored bridal assortments enabled this growth and was effective alongside the expected year-over-year moderation and engagement ring sales as engagements are expected to return to prepandemic levels,” noted Hilson. Future of retail Signet is banking on its diversified product portfolio for continued growth as it provides an extensive range of options for consumers – from a value offering in Banter to achievable luxury in Jared, Diamonds Direct and James Allen. Drosos also highlighted the importance of connected commerce as an emerging trend in jewellery retail. Connected Commerce is defined as a seamless and personalised integration of the online and offline shopping journey that includes discovering, purchasing and receiving goods on buyers’ own terms. “We have the physical footprint, the digital capabilities and the supply chain efficiency to provide journeys that cross channels, and we are seeing that play out. Now two-thirds of Signet customers are interacting with us both virtually and in a store before they purchase,” Drosos noted. According to Chow Tai Fook, the lingering effects of the pandemic coupledwith global economic uncertainties could affect consumer sentiment in the short run, but it is counting on the mainland China market to remain resilient over the mid- to long-term and drive sustainable growth in the jewellery retail sector. Technology and digitalisation will also play a crucial role in its operations and the future of retail. The company said it will continue to push forward with its smart manufacturing initiatives to support its retail expansion strategy and meet increasing production demand. The jeweller remarked, “By optimising production processes and intensifying our research and development efforts, we managed to raise the automation rate of our production lines from about 14 per cent in FY2020 to 35 per cent in FY2022, which was a significant boost to production efficiency.”
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