Zale plans an e-commerce expansion
Zale Corp. is launching a new web store for Gordon’s Jewelers, a chain that sells diamonds and other fine jewelry to customers on a budget. The web store will be launched in FY 2006, and possibly in time for this year`s holiday season, says David Sternblitz, Zale vice president and treasurer. It will become the chain retailer’s third e-commerce site.
Zale, a large specialty jewelry retailer with brands that include Zales Jewelers, Zales Outlet, Gordon’s Jewelers, Bailey Banks & Biddle Fine Jewelers and Piercing Pagoda in the United States as well as Peoples Jewellers and Mappins Jewellers in Canada, launched an e-commerce site for Bailey Banks & Biddle last November.
Now, by updating GordonsJewelers.com with a shopping cart and other e-commerce functions, Zale wants to create new ways to sell jewelry to younger buyers, especially newly engaged customers who may already be accustomed to shopping online. “About 40% of the business at Gordon’s Jewelers is related to weddings,” says Sternblitz. “By offering customers new ways to shop online or research a product we are building loyalty.”
Zale, which ranks No. 225 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, is launching more e-commerce sites as a way to generate more multi-channel sales opportunities for its 2,300 retail locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. E-commerce is also a growing channel for Zale. Zale expects its online sales to increase about 30% for its 2005 fiscal year, which ends July 31, says Sternblitz.
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