Wednesday, 18th April 2007 (3117 views)

Transatlantic jewellery producer Signet, which owns Ernest Jones and H Samuel chains in the UK, has blamed a snowy, cold Valentine's Day in the US for its slump in gold sales.

The group has some 966 outlets in the US but saw sales fall in the weeks since February, despite it traditionally being a strong time of year for gold jewellery sales.

Chief executive Terry Burman told the Guardian that bad weather had killed romance around February, blaming it for keeping Valentine's Day buyers at home. He said: "There were very large snowstorms over the 13th and 14th of February. That is right at the peak of the Valentine's Day trade. More than half our stores were affected by that snow."

Meanwhile, gold jewellery sales in India, typically the strongest market for the precious metal in its ornate form, have also been sliding. The latest report from London-based precious metal consultancy GFMS claimed that the country saw a 90-ton drop in demand last year, while global gold jewellery demand is expected to diminish further in 2007.

 

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