TOP STORIES

Signet U.S. Same Store Holiday Sales Down 16%
Signet Jewelers Ltd., the world’s largest specialty retail jeweler, said Thursday that same store sales were down by 15.2 percent for the nine-week period ended Jan. 3. Total sales fell by 19.4 percent on a reported basis and by 13.1 percent at constant exchange rates. » » »

Zale Same Store Sales Down 19.6%
Zale Corp. said Thursday that same store sales decreased 19.6 percent for the combined months of November and December 2008, encompassing the entire holiday selling period. Total revenues for the two-month period fell 19.5 percent to $582 million, compared to $723 million during the 2007 holiday season. » » »

Finlay Holiday Sales Down 23%
Finlay Enterprises, Inc. said Thursday that sales for the November and December period decreased 23.7 percent to $265.9 million, compared to $348.7 million in the comparable period of 2007. » » »

Stuller President to Retire
Stuller, Inc. on Thursday announced that Dr. Charles D. “Chuck” Lein will be retiring as president and chief operating officer, effective Jan. 31. » » »

Cochran Named MJSA President/CEO
Industry veteran David W. Cochran, has been named president/chief executive officer of the Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America. The appointment follows a year-long search that ran concurrently with the development of MJSA’s Strategic Plan, which the association recently released. » » »

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MORE INDUSTRY NEWS

Employee Accused of Shreve, Crump & Low Theft
A former employee of Shreve, Crump & Low is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in diamonds—in one instance replacing diamonds with cubic zirconia—from the venerable Boston Jeweler. » » »

Israeli Polished Exports Down 11.8%
Net polished exports from Israel fell 11.8 percent to $6.24 billion, compared to $7.07 billion in 2007, according to figures issued by the Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor’s Diamond Controller, Shmuel Mordechai. Net rough diamond exports totaled $3.31 billion, a 2 percent decline, compared to $3.38 billion in 2007. » » »

Holiday Chain Store Sales Fell 2.2%
U.S. chain store sales for December 2008 fell by 1.7 percent on a year-over-year same-store basis, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc. November-December holiday sales fell 2.2 percent compared to the 2007 season. » » »

Foot Traffic Flat, Sales Up 11.6%
Foot traffic at U.S. malls and shopping centers for the week ending Jan. 3 was flat, year-over-year, while retail sales grew 11.6 percent for the same period, according to ShopperTrak. » » »

More Layoffs at JTV
Jewelry television has begun a new round of layoffs at its Knoxville, Tenn., headquarters, according to media reports. » » »

Layoffs at ShopNBC
Television retailer ShopNBC laid off about 11 percent of its salaried workforce in an effort to cut costs. » » »

Orchid Winter Raffle Prize Package
The annual Orchid Winter Raffle for 2009 has a total prize package of $18,467.95. » » »