Signet Group
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Signet Group plc is a British based jewellery retailer which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It focuses on the middle to lower end of the jewellery market and had 1,847 stores at 29 July 2006. It operates the H. Samuel, Ernest Jones and Leslie Davis chains in the United Kingdom. In the United States, where it makes the majority of its sales, it trades as Kay Jewelers, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry, and under a variety of regional names.
[edit] Company background
The H. Samuel name dates back to 1862, when Harriet Samuel took over her father's jewellery shop. The current group was mainly created in the late 1980s with a series of acquisitions, including the H. Samuel chain. At the time the group was known as Ratners.
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.
Signet Group's turnover for the 52 weeks ended 29 January 2005 was over £1.6 billion.
