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RAPAPORT... Signet Jewelers Ltd. reported that same-store sales rose 5 percent year on year for the eight weeks that ended on December 28, the period that included the all-important Christmas season. Signet was the first major jeweler to comment on the 2013 holiday season.  Total sales during the eight week period increased 7.7 percent to $1.276 billion, while ecommerce sales increased by 24.8 percent in the U.S. and 37.5 percent in the U.K. During the period, same-store sales increased 5.6 percent year on year for Kay and Jared in the U.S., but comparable-store sales fell 2.3 percent at regional brands, which included Ultra. In the U.K., same-store sales jumped 8 percent at Ernest Jones and rose 3.3 percent at H.Samuel, marking the best performance in several years. Mike Barnes, the CEO of Signet, said, Christmas sales in the U.S. started very strong in November and finished strong at the close of December. ''However, additional discounting was necessary in a highly promotional retail environment that included challenging customer traffic trends and lower-than-anticipated commodity cost savings. We believe these factors will result in lower than expected gross margins and profitability versus our original expectations,'' he added. "We were pleased to deliver 5 percent same-store sales for the holiday season and were especially encouraged by both the improvement in the U.K. division and the strength of our ecommerce sales across divisions," Barnes said. For the fourth quarter of the company's fiscal year, which ends on January 31, Signet lowered guidance per share to between $2.12 and $2.16, based upon an estimated 80.3 million weighted average common shares outstanding. The decrease is due primarily to projected sales and the impact of lower margins.
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