b'PHYSICALWHY DEISMALLGETTING RETAILSMATTERS MINERSPOLITICALFUTURE STRUGGLE IN PUBLIC THE MAJORITY, SILENT For this article, National Jeweler reached out to the some of the largest specialty jewelers on the $100 Million Supersellers listSig-net Jewelers Ltd., Tiffany & Co., Richemont, Jewelry Television, Bucherer Group-owned Tourneau, Luxury Brand Holdings (parent company of Ross-Simons and Sidney Thomas), and Blue Nile (Nos. 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, and 12 on the list)to request interviews on how they are working to increase diversity and how theyve responded to the current civil rights movement. Signet, Tiffany and Tourneau replied. Tourneau declined to par-ticipate in the story. After repeated requests, Tiffany agreed to an email interview with its chief sustainability officer, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, but then the company changed its mind and ultimately also declined to allow Costa to participate.Signet granted National Jewelers request for an interview, with Piercing Pagodas Caffie, and provided a quote from CEO Gina Drosos, whos been more vocal than any other major U.S. jewelry executive on matters of racial injustice. Drosos spoke out publicly in the immediate wake of Floyds death, posting a statement on the Signet LinkedIn page and pledging a $100,000 donation from Signet to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.On the companys June 9 earnings call, she started by address-ing the social unrest. She decried racism, discrimination and violence against people of color, and announced she would be hosting a town hall-style meeting on race for Signet employees the following week. Signet Speaks Out was hosted with the intention that a frank discussion on race will give us new and meaningful actions we can take to improve within our four walls, Drosos said in the statement emailed to National Jeweler. We are continuing this open dialogue throughout the yearPiercing Pagoda launched its Be More You campaign in 2019 to mark the chains50th anniversary. The campaign encourages individuality and champions diversity. and look to leverage our actions and insights to also help lead change in our industry and communities. Our mission is to celebrate life and express love, and we are committed to making this true for all people. Women also make up half of Signets 10-member board of direc-Caffie says one of the ideas that emerged from the town hall is thetors, more than 75 percent of field leadership (store managers, dis-Black Employee Network, which is open to all employees and has thetrict managers and above) and 42 percent of all executives at the vice goal of ensuring Signets employeespresident level and above.of color have ample opportunity toTwenty-five percent of its move up in the companysome- We run away from this issue. We put ouremployees are Black (13 per-thing that is often missing forheads in the sand. We have to lift them.cent) or Hispanic or Latino people of color in retail.We have to teach people how to be(12 percent), data provided A New Jersey native, Caffieallies. We have to sometimes moveby the company shows. moved west after college toaway from our sensitivities onBut there are no people of take a job at the headquartershaving the discussion.color on the Signet board or of Gap Inc. in San Francisco. Reginald Johnson,among its top eight executives. Throughout her 25-year ca- Signet Jewelers The retailer has done reer as a retail executive, shes oftenamazing things when it been the only brown person in thecomes to gender diversity, room, she says, something she would like to see change.Reginald Johnson, Signets senior vice president of human resources Under Drosos leadership, Signetwhich once had a reputationand chief diversity officer, said during a July 30 webinar on diversity as an old boys club and is still fighting a now-decade-old genderin the industry organized by Jewelers of America. discrimination lawsuithas made substantial strides when it comesThe same energy we put into gender equality is the same energy to gender diversity. and fervor that we put into ethnic diversity and equity, so that we can Among Signets eight C-suite executives, women outnumber mencreate opportunities, so that we can recruit, he said. by a margin of five to three.We run away from this issue. We put our heads in the sand. We Continued on page 4846 STATE OF THE MAJORS 2020'