Zale Corp. is closing 105 underperforming stores and eliminating 245 positions. Most of those positions were in its home office; 70 were open.

The changes accompanied financial results that showed Zale’s fourth quarter same-stores sales down some 18 percent.

In a conference call, CEO Neal Goldberg said Christmas sales were hurt by a holiday strategy that stressed “storewide discounts.” He says the chain’s marketing will now emphasize “emotion” and “item-specific promotions.”