Birks & Mayors Holiday Sales Total $79.5 Million

Luxury jewelry retailer Birks & Mayors Inc.said Tuesday that net sales during holiday season (October 30, 2011, - December 24, 2011) increased by 5 percent, year-over-year, to $79.5 million.

The $4 million increase in net sales was driven by 3 percent increase in comparable store sales and higher revenues related to precious metal refining services offered to the company’s customers in Canada, partially offset by $600,000 of lower sales related to translating the sales of the company’s Canadian operations into U.S. dollars with a relatively weaker Canadian dollar.

The Montreal-based company’s primary business is the ownership and operation of the Birks luxury jewelry retail chain in Canada and the Mayor’s luxury jewelry retail chain in the southeastern United States.

Comparable store sales during the holiday season increased by 3 percent on a consolidated basis with comparable store sales in Canada increasing by 4 percent and U.S. comparable store sales growing by 2 percent, the company said. The stronger sales results in both Canada and the U.S. reflect an increase in the average sale.

“The holiday season began with good sales momentum, however, during the final weeks before Christmas we experienced strong declines in customer traffic in our stores,” said Thomas A. Andruskevich, Birks & Mayors president and CEO. “As such, our sales increases during the holiday period were somewhat softer than what we would have liked to see.”