Zale holiday earnings fall 2%

Irving, Texas -- Revenues for the two-month 2013 holiday period at Zale Corporation dropped 2% to $556 million from $567 million in the same period the prior year. Zale said the decrease in revenues is primarily due to the net decrease of 91 stores compared to last year and a decline in the Canadian exchange rate, partially offset by 2% overall same-store sales growth including e-commerce sales.



“During the holiday period, we maintained our focus on increasing exclusive product penetration, driving gross margin improvement and building our core national brands," said Zale CEO Theo Killion. "We executed a solid holiday season despite a challenging retail environment. Our holiday performance gives us confidence we can achieve our financial expectations for the fiscal year."