Signet Jewelers has told its suppliers it will not accept any financial obligation from tariffs to products for which it has current outstanding orders, or for future shipments that have already been agreed on.
“We are not accepting any new tariff impacts at all to current purchase orders,” Signet CEO J.K. Symancyk said recently in a letter the company sent to vendors. “Cost and payment structure will be based on all existing atelier pricing, with current tariff structure in place.”
The jeweler’s directive applies to all asset purchase orders already in production or previously placed for future shipment. It also covers memo purchase orders it has on hand in its inventory, those in process, and those already secured for future import, as well as any drop-ship or e-commerce orders.
The move is in response to the recent spate of tariffs the US government imposed on imports from numerous countries globally. The full duties, which go into effect Wednesday, range from 10% to 104%. While the taxes are subject to change based on the US’s negotiations with individual countries, the owner of Kay, Zales, Jared and Diamonds Direct asked its vendors to ship as much product as possible before the tariffs kicked in.
“We know there is much uncertainty about how these new guidelines could impact the jewelry sector,” Symancyk said. “We expect to work closely with supply-chain partners on mitigation efforts. The situation will no doubt remain dynamic as some countries will likely lower tariffs and others may raise them. We strongly encourage all partners to ship existing purchase orders where production is complete to [the] US, with a focus on April and May receipts.”
Image: The interior of a Diamonds Direct store. (Signet Jewelers)
