Signet Chairman Speaks Out

Reaffirms Commitment to Equal Opportunity, Announces Additional Steps

HAMILTON, Bermuda–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In an earnings call held today, Signet Jewelers Limited (“Signet”)
(NYSE:SIG), the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry, Signet
Chairman Todd Stitzer stated that the company has consistently worked to
improve policies and practices around equal employment opportunity and
workplace culture, resulting in better than benchmark female
representation in leadership positions. He also announced that the
company will take additional steps in the spirit of continuous review
and improvement.

In the past decade, the Signet has:

  • Adopted employment policies and practices to ensure equal career
    advancement via standardized processes for setting salaries and
    promotions based on objective, measurable metrics
  • Implemented training and performance measurement tools to cultivate
    leadership traits and prepare team members for promotion within the
    organization; and
  • Provided advanced, EEOC-approved training courses to help managers
    recognize and prevent workplace behaviors that do not respect all team
    members.

By numerous indicators, Signet outperforms national averages in the
percentage of its store management staff who are female. In their 2016
Women In The Workplace report, McKinsey & Company found that the
percentage representation of females in non-senior management of U.S.
corporations across all industries was 37%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 44.1% of all first-line
retail sales supervisors are female. In the jewelry, luggage and leather
goods subsector of this same report, the percentage of female first-line
supervisors is 61.5%. At Signet, 68% of the company’s store management
staff are female. The Company’s ongoing efforts to promote women in the
workplace is reflected at all levels of leadership.

According to McKinsey, 29% of all C-Level executives in the retail
sector are female. At Signet, 33% of all C-Level executives are female,
and 4 of Signet’s 11 or 36% of independent members of its Board of
Directors are female. The latter is almost double the average percentage
of female directors at S&P 500 firms, which according to a 2015 Catalyst
report, is less than 20 percent.

“Signet’s Board, management team our valued team members are proud of
these accomplishments which were built on a sound framework of policies
and practices and a strong workplace culture dedicated to equal
opportunity and respect,” said Stitzer. “We know that our commitment
requires continuous review and improvement, so as we continue our quest
to be an employer of choice, we are taking a number of additional steps
to ensure our policies and practices are functioning as intended and to
identify areas where we can further improve.” These include the
following:

  • Formation of a new Board Committee focused on Respect in the Workforce
    that will focus on programs and policies to support the advancement
    and development of our female Team Members. The directors who will
    serve on the new committee include Virginia Drosos, CEO of
    Assurex Health and prior Group President of Procter and Gamble; Marianne
    Miller Parrs,
    formerly Executive Vice President and Chief
    Financial Officer of International Paper Company; Eugenia Ulasewicz,
    who served as President of Burberry plc America Division; and Helen
    McCluskey,
    formerly CEO of The Warnaco Group. These women comprise
    all of Signet’s female directors and all are very familiar with the
    company since they joined the Board between 2008 and 2014.
  • The new committee will appoint an independent consultant to conduct a
    thorough review, which will cover current and future company policies
    and practices regarding equal opportunity and workplace expectations,
    including those covering non-harassment, training and reporting,
    investigation and non-retaliation.
  • The committee will also establish an independent Ombudsperson office
    to act as an informal third-party avenue to provide confidential
    advice to employees to address concerns regarding issues in the
    workforce and to provide options and strategies to assist them in
    resolution of workplace concerns. The Ombudsperson is in addition to
    Signet’s currently available resources and will provide additional
    assurance to Team Members and management that fairness and respect
    will always be the touchstones of how we treat each other.

“We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and we want
to be sure that the framework we have in place for reporting, and
responding to any such issues is robust and effective,” said Stitzer.
“It is the intention of this Board and the senior management team to
make certain that our culture and our Team Members are fully supported
at every level, because culture and people have helped make Signet the
leading company in our industry.”

About Signet and Safe Harbor Statement:

Signet Jewelers Limited is the world’s largest retailer of diamond
jewelry. Signet operates approximately 3,600 stores primarily under the
name brands of Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria Of Jewelry,
H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda. Further information
on Signet is available at www.signetjewelers.com.
See also www.kay.com,
www.zales.com,
www.jared.com,
www.hsamuel.co.uk,
www.ernestjones.co.uk,
www.peoplesjewellers.com
and www.pagoda.com.

This release contains statements which are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements, based upon management’s beliefs and expectations
as well as on assumptions made by and data currently available to
management, include statements regarding, among other things, Signet’s
results of operation, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth,
strategies and the industry in which Signet operates. The use of the
words “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “predicts,”
“believes,” “should,” “potential,” “may,” “forecast,” “objective,”
“plan,” or “target,” and other similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to general economic
conditions, regulatory changes following the United Kingdom’s
announcement to exit from the European Union, risks relating to Signet
being a Bermuda corporation, the merchandising, pricing and inventory
policies followed by Signet, the reputation of Signet and its brands,
the level of competition in the jewelry sector, the cost and
availability of diamonds, gold and other precious metals, regulations
relating to customer credit, seasonality of Signet’s business, financial
market risks, deterioration in customers’ financial condition, exchange
rate fluctuations, changes in Signet’s credit rating, changes in
consumer attitudes regarding jewelry, management of social, ethical and
environmental risks, security breaches and other disruptions to Signet’s
information technology infrastructure and databases, inadequacy in and
disruptions to internal controls and systems, changes in assumptions
used in making accounting estimates relating to items such as extended
service plans and pensions, the impact of the acquisition of Zale
Corporation on relationships, including with employees, suppliers,
customers and competitors, and our ability to successfully integrate
Zale’s operations and to realize synergies from the transaction.

For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statement, see the “Risk Factors” section of Signet’s
Fiscal 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 24,
2016 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. Signet
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as
required by law.

Contacts

Signet Jewelers
Investors:
James Grant, VP Investor Relations,
+1 330-668-5412
or
Media:
David Bouffard, VP Corporate
Affairs, +1 330-668-5369

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