Maria Halkias, retail writer for the DMN contracted me for my opinion on how the Zale Corporation was handling their current down turn of profits and sales.
My thoughts ... from the article.
Back to basics
Throughout the year, holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day present selling opportunities for Zale. But nothing compares with the Christmas season, a two-month period that accounts for 40 percent of the chain’s sales.
Zale will need to begin paying for its holiday 2010 inventory in October.
That gives Killion – or his successor – a few months to straighten out the finances. Some think the chain also needs to rediscover its place in the market.
The Zale brand is “confused,” said Charles T. Haseman, a Dallas-based consultant and a former Zale employee.
The middle-America customer Zale served for decades has lost sight of it as “the Diamond Store,” its clear mantra in more successful times, he said.
In the last five years, Signet stepped up to the plate with consistent marketing of its Kay and Jared brands, leading to its dominant market share, Haseman said.
“There’s a strong feeling throughout the Zale organization that the company needs to get back to the basics,” he said.
Chuck