Signet Group
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Signet Group plc is the world's largest speciality retail jeweller. The British based company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. The group focuses on the middle mass jewellery market and has number one positions in both the US and UK speciality jewelelry markets. Certain brands (Jared in the US and Ernest Jones/Leslie Davis in the UK) are also attracting the higher-end market.
Signet operated 1,888 speciality retail jewellery stores at 3 February 2007; these included 1,307 stores in the US where the Group trades as Kay Jewelers, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry and under the following regional names: JB Robinson Jewelers, Marks & Morgan Jewelers, Belden Jewelers, Osterman Jewelers, Shaw's Jewelers, Weisfield Jewelers, LeRoy's Jewelers, Rogers Jewelers, Goodman Jewelers, and Friedlander's Jewelers. Kay Jewelers in the national flagship mall store brand and Jared is the national off-mall superstore brand. The regional stores are all mall-based and somewhat similar to Kay stores. All of the US stores of all brands are operated under the subsidiary company Sterling Jewelers Inc., which is wholly owned by Signet Group.
On 3 February 2007 Signet also operated 581 stores in the UK, where the Group trades as H. Samuel, Ernest Jones and Leslie Davis. The Group's website is http://www.signetgroupplc.com[1].
[edit] Company background
The Group was created through a serious of acquisitions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was formerly known as the Ratner Group.
Gerald Ratner made possibly the most famous gaffe in twentieth century British business when he explained to a major business conference that the reason why one of his products was so cheap was that it was "total crap". This was gleefully reported by the media, and consumers subsequently avoided the shops. Nearly 300 Ratners branded stores were closed between January 1992 and May 1994 as the group went through a financial restructuring. Ratner 'resigned' in November 1992 and the group changed its name to Signet Group plc in September 1993.
This mishap gave rise to the expression, doing a Ratner.
