Sterling Jewelers, Inc. is an American specialty

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

company headquartered in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

through the Fairlawn suburb. The company was founded in 1910 by Henry Shaw (the father of Jerry Shaw, the chairman emeritus of Sterling today), from LeRoy's Jewelers in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

. Sterling Jewelers is a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based Signet Jewelers Limited (listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

under the symbol SIG), having been acquired in 1987.

History

Signet Jewelers, based in the UK, is a specialty retail jeweler, with stores in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Republic of Ireland, Puerto Rico, and Channel Islands. Approximately 78% of company sales are derived from the 12 different store brands operating in the U.S. They include Belden Jewelers, See the logos at the top of the page. Ernest Jones, Goodman Jewelers, H.Samuel, JB Robinson Jewelers, JamesAllen.com, Jared, Kay Jewelers, Le Roy's Jewelers, Marks & Morgan Jewelers, Osterman Jewelers, Peoples, Piercing Pagoda, Rogers Jewelers, Shaw's Jewelers, Weisfield Jewelers, Zales, and Mappins.2017 Form 10-K
(Annual report) According to the company's February 2, 2008, Annual Report & Accounts, Sterling has the number-two position in the U.S. with a 4.2% market share of all jewelry purchases. Sterling has a leading 8.8% market share in the specialty jeweler market share (highest in the sector). Since 2009, Sterling Jewelers has been a corporate sponsor of

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...

, making a number of donations to many of the hospital's building, clinical, and research projects. In February 2015, the company's senior vice president of field operations estimated that the company's past commitments to the St. Jude amounted to more than $90 million. In February 2014, Signet Jewelers Ltd. agreed to buy

Zale Corporation The Zale Corporation (best known as Zales) is an American jewelry retailer, incorporated in Delaware in 1993. The principal executive offices are located in Coppell, Texas. History The company began in 1924 in Wichita Falls, Texas, when the t ...

, with Zale shareholders receiving US$21 per share in cash in a US$1.4 billion deal. This merger created a $6.2 billion firm. In August 2017, it was announced that Signet Jewelers Ltd. agreed to buy R2Net, owner of online jewelry retailer JamesAllen.com, for $328 million.

Sex discrimination and sexual harassment proceedings

Sterling Jewelers is being sued by 69,000 female employees and former employees for

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

and

sex discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

in an ongoing

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

proceeding, In February 2017, ''

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'' obtained and reported on declarations made by about 250 women and men who worked for the company. The declarations state that men in supervisory roles at Kay Jewelers and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry sexually harassed younger saleswomen by

groping Groping is a form of sexual harassment involving the intentional inappropriate touching of another person commonly without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies. Touching a consenting person's body d ...

, making demeaning comments, and demanding of sexual favors in return for promotions and higher pay. Signet Jewelers's CEO Mark Light and other senior executives were among those accused of demanding sexual favors. The former employees also accuse Sterling of wage violations, contending that women at the company were "systematically paid less than men and passed over for promotions given to less experienced male colleagues." The company denies the allegations. Separately, the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

brought sex discrimination claims against the company in 2008. In May 2017, the EEOC and Sterling Jewelers settled the case by a

consent decree A consent decree is an agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt (in a criminal case) or liability (in a civil case). Most often it is such a type of settlement in the United States. The ...

; under the settlement, Sterling Jewelers does not have to pay a monetary sum and does not acknowledge any wrongdoing, but agreed to adopt new anti-discrimination policies and to hire an independent expert to review the company's compensation and promotion policies. The EEOC settlement does not affect the separate class action proceeding.

Credit card practices case

On January 16, 2019, Sterling Jewelers paid $11 million under a settlement with the

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, Payday lo ...

. The Bureau's investigations concluded that Sterling violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 by signing customers up for store credit without their knowledge or consent and enrolling them in payment-protection insurance. The investigations also found that the company violated the

Truth in Lending Act The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) of 1968 is a United States federal law designed to promote the informed use of consumer credit, by requiring disclosures about its terms and cost to standardize the manner in which costs associated with borrowing ...

when customers were signed-up for credit-card accounts without receiving an application from them. Sterling's parent company, Signet Jewelers Ltd, refuted the allegations but then accepted the settlement.

Store closings

In April 2019, Sterling Jewelers announced the closure of 150 stores, mostly in mall locations that see poor foot traffic or with duplicate stores in the Sterling chain (such as a Kay and a Zales).

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.sterlingjewelers.com/ Jewelry retailers of the United States American companies established in 1910 Retail companies established in 1910 Companies based in Akron, Ohio 1910 establishments in Ohio