Gina Drosos, CEO of Signet Jewelers, says that we should expect to see more than 2.5 million weddings in 2022 due to ceremonies originally scheduled during the coronavirus pandemic getting pushed back. Drosos also explains how these additional buying opportunities bring 'significant potential' to her company.

Closing Bell

'Ring' the Wedding Bells: Signet Jewelers Foresees Big Year for Weddings

Welcome back to closing bell here on cheddar news. So weddings are back people, that's what signature colors at least the parent company of. Kay jewelers zales and Jared is saying, in fact, the company believes you will see the most weddings in nearly 40 years this year. So this comes as couples who shelve their wedding during the height of the pandemic are now rushing to the altar joining us. Now is ceo of signage jewelers, gina, bozos and Jenna. What data is your is fueling your wedding expectations and how are you preparing for it at your stores? Well, as you might guess, we do a lot of research among couples that we call pre engagement couples, couples who are considering getting engaged. We know that the average time between when people meet and when they get married is three years, But the pandemic has disrupted weddings a bit. People weren't able to have a big wedding over the last couple of years. They couldn't invite all of their friends or families. So that's pushed more weddings into this year than we've seen historically. Usually there between 1.8, million weddings this year. There'll be over 2.5 million weddings. And with that pent up demand and that need to have that wedding, I'm sure there's a lot of pent up money, perhaps more money saved. So what kind of wedding rings, engagement rings are you seeing now trend wise now that we're at the end of this pandemic. What style? You know, it's fascinating. I mean, there are really a lot of jewelry opportunities. When you think about a wedding, There are two bands for everyone engagement rings. So that's a big opportunity and more and more men are liking to have um you know, bands that have diamonds in them. I mean something a bit special. So um you know, so not just the traditional gold band, but you know, something that has a little bit of bling, there's also the opportunity for brides and grooms, gifts, gifts for the wedding party. More and more bridesmaids are wearing different dresses and different styles, but to have matching earrings or matching pendant is really quite a nice thing. So we're seeing that the value of the total wedding and the jewelry sense has a significant potential now when it comes to inflation, everyone is dealing with it. So how do you deal with it as a company to ensure that you're still able to deliver these rings and also the customers still able to buy these rings? Exactly. So we're very conscious of wanting to make sure that we're providing a great value to our customers. So we have a banner portfolio, Kay zales, Jared banter, James, allen diamonds, direct. Quite a few different banners that allows us to have a good, better best strategy in terms of our pricing, we also are the world's largest retailer of diamond jewelry. So we have quite a bit of scale with our vendor partners and we're able to value engineer products for customers so that they can always count on getting the best value at one of our banners. Now, outside of weddings, is there another I guess section or product that you're seeing an increase in now that we're at this stage of the pandemic? We are, I'd say the three big trends that we're seeing in jewelry this year. The one we touched on first, which is so many weddings, the most likely people to get engaged by the way are a couple that has just recently been to one or more weddings together. So google search terms, we're seeing engagements up above last year as well. Um, the second big trend is the return to the workplace in a hybrid work environment. People can't always see your shoes, they can't see your great new bag, but they can definitely notice the jewelry that you're wearing. And so it's a purchase to express yourself as people are excited to do that again in the workplace that works both for in person and for zoom calls or, or teams meetings. And then the third big trend we're seeing is lab created diamonds. It's not a big part of our business yet, but it certainly is fast growing. And it's another way that customers are finding great value in an inflation year well and you're also talking about the kind of trend of not just getting the big rock, but getting several different rocks. Tell me a little bit about that. Exactly. So over the last few years we've seen that solitaire rings were, were predominant in terms of engagement ring purchases also rings with different shaped or different color center stones to add a bit of uniqueness. But this year one of the trends that we're seeing more couples choosing composite rings. So instead of a big center stone, a lot of smaller stones, which really gives a great bling bling for the dollar if you will. I mean it really shows up as a, as a big item without costing as much money. Not as you understand. Love knows no boundaries doesn't matter your skin color or creed. So tell me a little bit more about this path to brilliance that you guys have earned the sheeting. Yes. So we've been on a transformation at signet for a number of years. It's been both a cultural and a strategic transformation culturally, I think is maybe even more important. We've been putting a big focus on diversity equity and inclusion, Really making sure that all of our team members feel like they can bring their best ideas, their best selves to work. And I think what that's helped us do is see around the corner, we've been able to predict trends and jewelry before they happen. We've really gotten out in front of improving our website performance, our digital marketing using our data and I think that's because we've made diversity of business strategy. Now I understand that you want to be diversity. We want to make sure everyone is included. But you also are taking the stance when it comes to the war in Ukraine? Tell me a little bit about the decision to no longer buy diamonds of Russian origin. How did that decision come and have, what have you seen so far? It was an easy decision and a hard decision. The easy part of it is that our purpose as a company is inspiring love. And we know that the conflict in Russia and Ukraine has nothing to do with inspiring love. And so as soon as that conflict happened, we immediately stopped purchase of Russian diamonds and we instructed all of our vendors to do the same. So every customer who feels like we do can know that if they buy diamonds from any of our banners, those diamonds were not sourced from Russia after this conflict began. The hard part is that 30% of the world's diamonds come from Russia. So thankfully we have the scale and the partnerships and the relationships that we've been able to pivot and be agile. We didn't see any loss of stock for Mother's Day. We don't expect to see it for holiday. We will again be stocked and staffed. And so we've been able to use our agility to make sure that we could shift our supply chain. Now we know the joy that the customers should feel once they get one of your products. But what do you want? The person who's purchasing that product to feel after you make the decisions about Russia, about the path civilians, what do you what do you want them to know they're buying along with that product they get from you. I think, you know, the, the purchase of a piece of jewelry and especially an engagement ring can be a little frightening for people actually. I mean it's it's not something that they do every day. They really want the proposal to go well and they want to get a great value. So I want them to feel comfortable, I want them to know that their purchase is making a good difference in the world, which we do through our products. Um we are very philanthropic as a company and so I think they can feel good buying from us. We're a leader and responsible sourcing so they can know that we have sourced their products ethically, were also a leader in sustainability, so they can know that we're working on on positive things for the environment and and really leading the charge for the jewelry industry. I feel better already. I'm not even proposing to anybody, but I appreciate it so much. Thank you so much for coming on the show, Gina, this is general Tso's Ceo of Signet jewelers with us today. We appreciate your time and I appreciate you sharing your expertise on this and the ever changing landscape of love. It really is something incredible