Sterling Jewelers Inc.
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Sterling Jewelers Inc. was founded in 1906 by Henry Shaw from one store in Cleveland, Ohio. Their headquarters in Akron, Ohio was established in 1922. Sterling is a wholly owned subsidiary of Signet Group plc (listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SIG), having been acquired in 1987. Sterling Inc. is the largest speciality fine jewelry company in the United States in sales. The company operates chains of fine jewelery stores in the United States, with 1,307 stores in 50 states as of 3 February 2007. Mark Light is the Chief Executive of Sterling Inc. Sterling's main competitor is Zale Corporation, which the two flagship brands (Kay and Zales, respectively) being the two most recognized national jewelers.
Sterling's main brand is Kay Jewelers, with the tagline "Every Kiss Begins with Kay". Their former tagline was "The Diamond People". There were 831 Kay Jewelers stores on 3 February 2007. Most Kay stores are in malls, but many newer stores are being opened outside malls in power strips and lifestyle centers. While all stores will have most of the same selection, certain stores will carry specialized merchandise, such as Rolex watches or a larger selection of Leo diamonds, LeVian, or Sea Magic by Mikimoto jewelry.
Sterling's main focus is now on growing their jewelery superstore concept, known as Jared: The Galleria Of Jewelry. Jared stores are freestanding and carry about four to five times the selection of a normal Kay Jewelers mall location. Unlike most of their other stores, Jared locations have a large custom design and repair department, a children's play area, and an espresso/refreshment lounge. Their commercial's best known tagline is "He Went to Jared!", with other taglines such as "That's Jared!" appearing on their website. There were 135 Jared stores on 3 February 2007.
Sterling also operates stores 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. The regional stores are located in malls, usually when there is already a Kay store in the mall. JB Robinson (also known as JBR), the largest regional chain, has different merchandise (such as Tissot Swiss watches) and is substantially different from a Kay store. JBR's tagline is "A Heritage of Trust Since 1929". JBR is positioned to target a slightly higher market than Kay, similar to competing Zale Corporation's Gordon's Jewelers. The other regional chains have very similar merchandising to Kay, but will still have differences, often depending on the type of customers in that region. The regionals' (exluding JBR) collective tagline is "Go Straight to the Heart", which many people will connect to their radio jingle. Some prime location malls have a Kay store along with two or more regional brands, such as Fashion Square Mall in Saginaw, Michigan (which has Kay, JB Robinson, LeRoy's, and Osterman). Every regional brand has its own specialized logo, colors, and store displays, as well as differences in merchandise depending on the clientele. There were 341 regionally branded stores on 3 February 2007.
Sterling Jewelers has expressed a desire to merge their regional stores under the JB Robinson name to form a second national mall brand, but assert that they need over 500 stores for national tv advertising to be profitable. They are in talks with rivals over potential buyouts to rapidly expand JB Robinson.
Sterling Inc. has a growing number of exclusive fine jewelry brands, such as the Leo Diamond, Peerless Diamond (only in Jared), Sea Magic by Mikimoto cultured pearls, XPY Express Yourself, and the Veneto collection of sterling silver (only in Jared). They also exclusively promote "Perfect Partner" matching jewelry ensembles. LeVian is another showcased brand, though it is not exclusive.
