The new leader of the world’s largest diamond jewellery retailer has emphasised the value of lab-created diamonds in fashion ranges.
J.K. Symancyk stepped into the position of Signet Jewelers CEO following Virginia C. Drosos’ retirement in November. As detailed in a report from JCK Online, at a conference in Orlando on 14 January, he detailed a 30 per cent increase in lab-created diamond jewellery sales.
“There’s growth and momentum within fashion that we need to do a better job of tapping into,” he said.
“There’s customer demand within the sub-$USD1,000 and sub-$USD500 gift-giving price point, but the way the customer shops that category has changed. Within our assortment, there’s an opportunity to amplify lab-created diamonds more in that space.”
He added: “Lab-created diamonds make diamonds more accessible to categories of fashion that they didn’t exist in before.”
Symancyk emphasised that this shift into fashion does not signal a move away from traditional diamond engagement jewellery, which remains a critical part of the retailer’s business.
He also acknowledged that engagement jewellery sales have not entirely recovered from the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don’t want anyone to read this focus on fashion as a shift away or deprioritisation of engagement. That is a core part of our business, and it’s a strength,” he explained.
“This pivot to a little more focus on fashion — don’t read that as a lack of confidence or pullback from the engagement side of the business. Look at that [as leaning] into something that we have control over, as opposed to being beholden to a trend that we don’t have complete control over.”
Signet recently reduced its guidance for the fourth quarter of the financial after a sales slump during the holiday period.
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Credit: jewellermagazine.com
