The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Lorraine Maikis - BofA Securities - Analyst
: Just to follow up on the comp question. Is there -- are there any headwinds that you anticipate? Is there anything in the quarter-to-date number
that you think is onetime on the same-store sales? It just seems like a pretty sharp deceleration for the rest of the year, particularly when you have
some learnings to fix in the important fourth quarter, it seems like you have an opportunity there to do even better. So just any other context there
would be helpful.
Question: Lorraine Maikis - BofA Securities - Analyst
: And then the strategy that you laid out is focusing on natural diamonds for engagement and lab grown for Fashion. What is the customer saying
to you about lab grown in engagement? And is there risk that as prices for lab grown fall that could cause some longer-term challenges to the
business?
Question: Paul Lejuez - Citigroup Inc. - Analyst
: Can you talk about what your expectations are for the engagement category overall at a market level this upcoming year that are built into your
guidance? And I'm also curious if you can talk about the promotional environment in both Bridal and Fashion and how that translates into what
you assume for AURs in each of those categories this year.
Question: Paul Lejuez - Citigroup Inc. - Analyst
: Yeah. Got it. And then just one follow-up, Joan, free cash flow target for the year, maybe you can tie that into how you plan to manage inventory.
Question: Dana Telsey - Telsey Advisory Group - Analyst
: Good morning, everyone, and nice to see the progress. You've made this pivot with the AUR improving? How you're thinking about Fashion versus
Bridal. Any thoughts as to the cadence through the year about what -- how you're thinking about it and where you would have the most traction?
And then Joan would be up to 150 store closures. How do you think of the timing of determining, yeah, these 10 will close, these 50 will close? And
what are the markers that you're looking at?
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MARCH 19, 2025 / 12:30PM, SIG.N - Q4 2025 Signet Jewelers Ltd Earnings Call
Question: Mauricio Serna - UBS Investment Bank - Analyst
: First, could you give us a range of where the first quarter to date comp sales are at? And also, would be very interested in seeing -- sorry, you get
in more detail on how was the performance for Valentine's and kind of like the cadence after that, you saw like any changes in behavior?
And another follow-up on that, what are your expectations for the total industry, the jewelry industry in the US for this year in terms of growth?
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MARCH 19, 2025 / 12:30PM, SIG.N - Q4 2025 Signet Jewelers Ltd Earnings Call
Question: Mauricio Serna - UBS Investment Bank - Analyst
: Great. And just another follow-up on gross margin. Like, how should we think about that for the year. I think you've alluded some modest merchandise
margin expansion, but on a gross margin basis, how should we think about that? And any details on like the cadence of what could that look like
for the year?
Question: Mauricio Serna - UBS Investment Bank - Analyst
: And sorry, one very last one. As you think about just like the high end and low end of the sales guide like from a -- I guess, like, what are like the
puts and takes that get you from like the low end to the high end on new guide? Essentially, that's the question.
Question: James Sanderson - Northcoast Research Partners - Analyst
: I wanted to go back to the many changes you outlined in process of Signet. I wonder how do you see the Signet profit model evolving in terms of
flow-through on incremental sales, assuming business normalizes and you start to see some improvement on your sales trends? And this is in the
context of the, let's say, 7% EBITDA margin you've been reporting the past couple of fiscal years.
Question: James Sanderson - Northcoast Research Partners - Analyst
: All right. And just a quick follow-up question on the engagement category. Your range, I think, of low single-digit negative to positive, is that a
reflection of you -- thinking you need to capture market share in order to achieve growth in the category? Or is the backdrop that the industry
trend is flattish to declining? Just kind of how that range reflects what's going on with consumer demand, pardon me.
Question: James Sanderson - Northcoast Research Partners - Analyst
: And you still see that recovery in process industry-wide? Is that the right way to think?
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