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Birks sales slide during holiday season

05 march 2018
Birks Group’s November and December sales declined 4% due to ongoing renovations at two flagship stores and weak consumer sentiment in Canada.
The Montreal-based company noted comparable store sales grew 2% during the period, reflecting growth in locations that were open for more than a year and thus discounting the impact of the stores undergoing renovations. Birks Group president and CEO Jean-Christophe Bédos attributed the improvement to increased sales of Birks-branded products, targeted marketing campaigns and a rise in e-commerce sales.
“As we enter the final quarter of our fiscal year, we will maintain our focus on our short-term and long-term growth strategies, namely the renovation of our flagship stores, the global expansion of the Birks product brand and the development of our e-commerce and wholesale businesses; the execution of which will contribute to long-term sales and profitability growth,” Bédos stated.
As part of that program, Birks last year signed a partnership deal with online retailer Luxify to sell rare Canadian polished diamonds to the Asian market.