The Sterling Jewelry Company is an American specialty jewelry retailer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company was founded in 1910 by Henry Shaw, a former owner of LeRoy’s Jewelers in Lorain, Ohio. Today, Sterling is a wholly owned subsidiary of Signet Jewelers Limited, a London-based company. Its collections of fine jewelry and watches include wedding rings, engagement rings, and cufflinks.
The Stock Market And The Stock Price Fell
The company was known for training its salespeople obsessively. Some even took courses in gemology and diamontology to learn more about the chemical makeup of gold. Salespeople were trained to behave like retail assassins and stand over jewelry display cases. In this way, they could pounce on unsuspecting customers and steal the show. Sterling has many other successful store locations, so employees are likely to find employment there.
The first Houston store was opened in 1961. A few years later, a second store opened on Westheimer in Dallas. The brothers purchased 5 acres of raw land near Gessner and Westheimer in 1973. The adjacent land was still open ranchland. In the early 1970s, the Houston and Dallas operations were merged. The company then went public, but the oil embargo hit the stock market and the stock price fell.
In 2014, the company was acquired by Signet. The company operates a network of stores throughout the U.S. and sells watches and other jewelry products. Its stock price has decreased by over 60 percent over the past six months. The company has settled charges related to opening credit cards without permission. In November, the company also announced the closure of 150 stores. Sterling is the second-largest jewelry retailer in the United States.