Signet Jewelers Buys Blue Nile to Tap Bridal Market, Expand Digital

Positioning itself in a jewelry market that’s being impacted by the downturn in the economy, Signet Jewelers announced Tuesday (Aug. 9) that it is acquiring online jewelry retailer Blue Nile and that it has lowered its guidance for full fiscal year 2023.

With the acquisition of Blue Nile for $360 million in an all cash transaction, the diamond jewelry retailer will expand its bridal offerings and extend its digital capabilities, Signet Jewelers said in a press release.

“Adding Blue Nile to our strong and diversified portfolio of banners will further drive our Inspiring Brilliance growth strategy — expanding customer choice, building new capabilities and achieving meaningful operating synergies that will increase value for both our consumers and shareholders,” Signet CEO Virginia C. Drosos said in the release.

In updating its guidance, the company said in the release it now expects fiscal 2023 total revenues of $7.6 billion to $7.7 billion, down from the previously anticipated $8.03 billion to $8.25 billion, do to increased macroeconomic headwinds and pressure on consumers’ discretionary spending.

“We saw sales soften in July as our customers have been increasingly impacted by rapid inflation, so we’re revising guidance to align with these trends,” Drosos said in the release, adding that the revenue in the revised guidance would still be about 25% higher than that earned in pre-pandemic 2020.

PYMNTS reported in June that when the recession hits — and a recession is looking more and more like a matter of when, not if — spending on luxury retail will come to a screeching halt. Or maybe not.

Read more: BNPL Offers Luxury Sales Lifeline as Economic Storm Gathers

As PYMNTS’ data shows, about two-thirds of U.S. millennials, bridge millennials and Generation Z consumers report a high interest in using buy now, pay later (BNPL) — especially at luxury and specialty retailers.

Twenty-six percent of the respondents to the survey said they had paid for jewelry in the last 12 months using BNPL. The ability to break large-ticket items into more manageable payments over time means that sticker shock can be avoided.

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