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They’re hearing wedding bells—and cash registers.
Signet Jewelers (SIG) had been seeing slower-than-usual engagement ring sales. It usually takes about three years between the time a couple meets and gets engaged, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos said Monday, but that timeline was extended by the pandemic, affecting engagements through early 2024.
“But now, we're seeing that come back,” Drosos said. “We've seen it come back a little slower than we expected because of this choppy consumer.” More recently, she said, unit sales of engagement rings are on the rise.
“We're seeing all the signs of that engagement recovery,” Drosos said during a Monday appearance at a CL King conference, a transcript of which was made available by AlphaSense.
That helped lift shares of Signet, owner of the Zales and Kay chains, on Tuesday. The stock remains down more than 10% this year, though it recently changed hands at levels last seen about three months ago, lifted recently by an upbeat outlook for the third quarter.
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A 'Three-Year Tailwind'
Drosos offered other reasons for optimism on Monday, including a year-over-year increase in visits to its web sites—though she also said shoppers appear to be more cautious with their buying decisions at present. Executives at jeweler Brilliant Earth (BRLT) said something similar at a Goldman Sachs conference recently, while also reporting higher average selling prices for engagement rings.
“But they're still moving forward to engagement, which is what we've been waiting for and are excited about,” Drosos said. “It creates a three-year tailwind in our business.”
Read the original article on Investopedia.