By Connor Hart

Signet Jewelers cut its fourth-quarter outlook, prompted by a duller-than-expected holiday shopping season.

The jewelry retailer's chief financial officer, Joan Hilson, said Tuesday that consumers shifted to lower-priced gift options at a greater-than-expected rate. "Merchandise assortment gaps at key gifting price points impeded our ability to meet that trend," she added.

Same-store sales, which account for store openings and closings, as a result fell 2% during the 10 weeks ended Jan. 11, the company said, reflecting peak selling days ahead of Christmas that missed expectations.

Signet now expects fourth-quarter revenue between $2.32 billion and $2.34 billion, down from a prior projection of between $2.38 billion and $2.46 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are now expected to come in between $381 million and $391 million, compared with a previous view for $441 million to $471 million. The company guided for same-store sales to fall 2.5% to 2%, whereas it previously said they would be flat to 3% higher.

Analysts polled by FactSet are expecting fourth-quarter sales of $2.42 billion and a same-store sales gain of 1.7%.

Chief Executive J.K. Symancyk said the company moving forward has the opportunity to reshape its customer-facing strategies in the areas of marketing, product design and assortment innovation.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2025 07:12 ET (12:12 GMT)

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