Zale Corp. announced it has signed a multiyear private label credit card program agreement with Alliance Data Systems Corp.

Under the terms of the agreement, Alliance Data, through its Comenity Capital Bank subsidiary, will provide private label credit cards to customers of Zale in the United States beginning no later than Oct. 1, 2015, following the scheduled expiration of Zale’s current U.S. private label credit card agreement on Sept. 30, 2015.

“We are very pleased to begin our partnership with Alliance Data,” said Matt Appel, chief administrative officer of Zale Corp., in a statement. “We selected Alliance Data for its extensive and highly regarded marketing tools and analytics, retail expertise, technology solutions and customer service. We will receive near-term benefits from these capabilities as well as significant economic benefits from this relationship over the life of the contract.”

The agreement will run until Oct. 1, 2022, and automatically renew for successive two-year periods after the initial term in the absence of written notice of non-renewal by either party. If certain performance metrics are achieved within the first three years of the program, Alliance Data will have the option of extending the initial term by two years.

JCK