Consumer
Zales Owner Sees Couples Delaying Engagements Over Economic Concerns
- Signet lowers estimates for increase in proposals this year
- Engagement, bridal jewelry is about half firm’s annual sales
Around 2.1 million couples became engaged last year, the lowest number in years.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
The owner of Kay Jewelers and Zales says some couples could wait to get engaged this year because of still-high inflation and uncertainty about the labor market.
“If right now they’re worried about their jobs or they’re still paying a little bit more for rent or for gas, then they might wait a few months for that engagement,” Gina Drosos, the chief executive officer of Signet Jewelers Ltd., said in an interview Wednesday.