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The Zale Corporation is an American jewelry
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 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 in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Coppell, Texas
Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in the ...
.
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. According ...
, when the two Russian-Jewish
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
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 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, in 1832.
History
Bailey & Kitchen, as it was originally known, was founded at 136 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, on September 20, 1832, by Joseph Trowbri ...
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