verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message signet jewelers ltd. type public traded as nyse sig lse sig industry retail founded 1949 headquarters hamilton bermuda domicile akron ohio united states headquarters 1 key people todd stitzer chairman mark light ceo michele santana cfo 2 products jewelry revenue us 6.55 billion 2015 3 operating income us 703.7 million 2015 profit us 467.9 million 2015 total assets us 6.464 billion 2015 number of employees 29 057 2016 4 subsidiaries zale corporation website http www.signetjewelers.com signet jewelers ltd. ratner group 1949 1993 then signet group plc to september 2008 is the world s largest retailer of diamond jewelry . 5 the hamilton bermuda domiciled akron oh headquartered company is listed on both the new york stock exchange and the london stock exchange . the group operates in the middle market jewelry segment and has number one positions in the u.s. canada and uk specialty jewelry markets . certain brands jared in the u.s. and h samuel ernest jones leslie davis in the uk operate in the upper middle market . 5 signet jewelers owns and operates the companies zale kay jewelers and jared 6 contents 1 history 2 operations 3 references 4 external links history edit the group was founded in 1949 and grew organically before expanding rapidly through a series of acquisitions in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was formerly known as the ratner group . gerald ratner who built it from 130 stores to 2500 a previous ceo made possibly the most famous gaffe in twentieth century british business when he explained to a major business conference that the reason why one of his products was so cheap was that it was total crap . he then went on to unfavourably compare some of the company s earrings with a 99p prawn sandwich . his remarks were gleefully reported by the media . the company lost over 500 million pounds off its share price and consumers subsequently avoided the ratner branded stores nearly 300 of which were closed between january 1992 and may 1994 as the group went through a financial restructuring . ratner resigned in november 1992 and the group changed its name to signet group plc in september 1993 . this perceived lack of judgement and contempt for the customer gave rise to the expression doing a ratner . 7 8 the company moved its primary stock market listing from the london to the new york stock exchange on september 11 2008 changing its name to signet jewelers limited in the process . 9 the firm also moved its country of domicile from the united kingdom to bermuda on the same day 10 although it retains headquarters in akron oh . 5 in february 2014 signet jewelers ltd. agreed to buy zale corporation with zale shareholders receiving usd 21 a share in cash in usd 1.4 billion deal . 11 this merger will create a 6.2 billion firm . 11 operations edit signet operates approximately 5 000 stores . 5 references edit http www.signetjewelers.com files doc downloads 2015 signet 2015ar4 v001 s18658.pdf http www.signetjewelers.com files doc downloads 2015 signet 2015ar4 v001 s18658.pdf http www.signetjewelers.com files doc downloads 2015 signet 2015ar4 v001 s18658.pdf http www.signetjewelers.com files doc downloads 2015 signet 2015ar4 v001 s18658.pdf a b c d signet jewelers ltd. fy15 annual report pdf . justinbachman justin bachman . zale kay jewelers and jared just got more interchangeable . bloomberg.com . retrieved 2016 08 11 . doing a ratner and other famous gaffes . the daily telegraph . 22 december 2007 . retrieved 14 april 2010 . wilson bill 17 october 2003 . barclay chief s gaffe recalls ratner howler . bbc news online . retrieved 14 april 2010 . baertlein lisa 11 september 2008 . signet jewelers shares rise in nyse debut . reuters . retrieved 2008 09 14 . signet says court approves move of listing to nyse change of domicile . afx news . forbes . 8 september 2008 . archived from the original on 2011 06 04 . retrieved 2008 09 14 . a b karr arnold j. 19 february 2014 . signet to buy zale . wwd . retrieved 19 february 2014 . external links edit official website yahoo profile sterling jewelers inc. u.s. operations h.samuel ernest jones company history company information and timeline 1 2 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title signet jewelers & oldid 738107652 categories companies listed on the new york stock exchangejewellery retailers of the united kingdomjewelry retailers of the united statesretail companies of bermudacompanies based in akron ohiocompanies established in 1949hidden categories articles needing additional references from april 2010all articles needing additional references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent 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