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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