WASHINGTON — Signet Jewelers, the parent company of such brands as Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers said it plans to permanently close about 400 stores.
All of its stores were temporarily closed in late March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The company operates more than 3,000 stores worldwide and so far nearly 1,100 have reopened. But the company announced Tuesday it will not reopen at least 150 North America stores and 80 United Kingdom stores.
Additionally, there are plans to close at least another 150 stores by the end of the fiscal year, bringing the total closures to at least 380.
Signet Jewelers CEO Gina Drosos said in the company's earnings call on Tuesday that the closures would be concentrated in underperforming malls, according to Business Insider.
Signet operates approximately 3,200 stores primarily under the name brands of Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples, Piercing Pagoda, and JamesAllen.com.
When all its stores were closed due to the pandemic, the business did see an increase in online sales, a portion of which was generated by virtual sales, Drosos told The Associated Press. Sales people have done more than 100,000 virtual consultations online since March 23.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many businesses to overhaul company strategies and several major retailers have had to file for bankruptcy including Tuesday Morning, J.C. Penney, luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus, J.Crew and Stage Stores.
