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The Zale Corporation is an American
Zales Jewelers
* {{Authority control, state=expanded Jewelry retailers of the United States American companies established in 1924 Retail companies established in 1924 Companies based in Coppell, Texas Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange 1924 establishments in Texas 2014 mergers and acquisitions
The Zale Corporation is an American jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
retailer
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
, incorporated in Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Coppell, Texas.
History
The company began in 1924 inWichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accordin ...
, when the two Russian-Jewish immigrant brothers Morris (M. B.) Zale and William Zale (born Zalefsky), along with Ben Lipshy opened the first Zales Jewelers store (now a division in the multi-division company).
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
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
in 1946. In 1998, online shopping was opened at www.zales.com.
Corporate restructuring
In 1957, Zales Jewelers opened its 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's Jewelers, which had been a major competitor. Zales bought the Skillern Drug pharmacy chain in the 1960s, but sold it in 1980. Until 1986, Zales operated acatalog showroom
A catalog merchant (catalogue merchant in British and Canadian English) is a form of retailing. The typical merchant sells a wide variety of household and personal products, with many emphasizing jewelry. Unlike a self-serve retail store, most ...
called O. G. Wilson.
In 1986, People's Jewelers bought Zales.
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 & Biddle
Bailey Banks & Biddle was a retailer of jewelry formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachi ...
brand to Finlay Enterprises
Finlay Enterprises Inc. was a holding company based in New York that conducted business through its wholly owned subsidiary "Finlay Fine Jewelry". It was founded in 1887. Finlay Enterprises Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, 2009.
...
.
In February 2014, Signet Jewelers
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (Ratner Group 1949–1993 then Signet Group plc to September 2008) is, as of 2015, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewellery. The company is domiciled in Bermuda and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and is listed on ...
agreed to buy Zale Corporation, with Zale shareholders receiving USD$21 a share in cash in USD$1.3 billion deal. The merger created a $6.2 billion firm.
In January 2017, Zales announced it would close a handful of its mall stores when the leases expire, to avoid duplication with former rival Kay Jewelers.
In 2018, the company moved its headquarters to a new building in Coppell, Texas.
References
External links
Zales Jewelers
* {{Authority control, state=expanded Jewelry retailers of the United States American companies established in 1924 Retail companies established in 1924 Companies based in Coppell, Texas Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange 1924 establishments in Texas 2014 mergers and acquisitions