Zale Corporation

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"Zale" and "Zales" redirect here. For other uses, see Zale (disambiguation).


Zale Corporation
Subsidiary
Industry Retailing
Founded 1924 (Wichita Falls, Texas)
Headquarters Irving, Texas
Number of locations
 Zales and Gordon’s: 781
Zales Outlet: 130
Peoples and Mappins: 206
Piercing Pagoda: 652
(October 2012)[1]
Key people
 Terry Burman (Chairman)
Theo Killion (CEO)
Matthew Appel (CAO)
Products Jewelry
Revenue DecreaseUS$1.9 billion (July 2012) [2]
Total assets $1.171 billion(July 2012) [2]
Number of employees
 12,500 (July 2012)[3]
Parent Signet Jewelers
Slogan The Diamond Store
Website www.zalecorp.com

The Zale Corporation is a United States jewelry retailer, incorporated in Delaware in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Irving, Texas.[4]

History

The location of the original Zales store, in downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, across the street from the historic Holt Hotel

Early years

The company began in 1924 in Wichita Falls, Texas, when Morris (M. B.) Zale, William Zale, and Ben Lipshy opened the first Zales Jewelers store. As a marketing strategy, the Zale brothers instituted a credit plan whereby customers could pay "a penny down and a dollar a week," making jewelry and other merchandise affordable for the average working American. The success of this credit policy led to the company expanding to a total of 12 stores in Oklahoma and Texas by 1941.

Zales Jewelers moved its headquarters from Wichita Falls to Dallas in 1946.

Shopping malls

Zales store, Briarwood Mall, Ann Arbor, Michigan. This location is now Forever 21.

In 1957, Zales Jewelers broadened its reach, opening the first store in a shopping center—a major shift from operating only in downtown locations. The same year, Zales announced the initial public offering of its stock (ZLC) and began trading its public shares on the American Stock Exchange in 1958. In 1989, Zale acquired Gordon Jewelry.[5]

Internet commerce

In 1998, online shopping was launched at www.zales.com.

Corporate restructuring

In 1999 and 2000, Zale expanded with two major acquisitions: Peoples Jewellers of Canada and Piercing Pagoda.

In 2007, the Company divested its Bailey Banks and Biddle brand to Finlay.[6]

Until 1986, Zales operated a catalog showroom called O. G. Wilson.[7]

In February 2014, Signet Jewelers agreed to buy Zale Corporation, with Zale shareholders receiving USD$21 a share in cash in USD$1.4 billion deal.[8] This merger will create a $6.2 billion firm.[8]

See also

References

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External links

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