After Over 100 Years in Business, Kay Embarks on Its Biggest Rebranding

Kay, the largest division of Signet Jewelers, has embarked on a sweeping rebranding, impacting many parts of the business and introducing a campaign themed “Love All In.”

“Kay has over a century of equity around love and being a trusted jewelry retailer. We’re taking that expertise and transforming it into a relevant, entirely new brand identity,” Julie Yoakum, president of Kay Jewelers, told WWD in an interview on the rebranding strategy. “I like to call it the three-legged stool, touching our brand, our product and the Kay experience. We’ve been working on this diligently for the last year and it’s starting to come to life today.”

According to Yoakum, Kay has reduced its assortment by about 20 percent while putting greater emphasis on offering custom products and bolstering men’s jewelry. “We had too much product, it was confusing,” Yoakum said. “Over the course of the year in every category we have been reducing the assortment.”

New product coming in is focused on updated classics and quality, Yoakum said. “We do have a broad audience, but it’s important that we don’t try to be all things to all people. We’re trying to really have a point of view.”

Kay has also redesigned its website with improved navigation, browsing and storytelling and a more curated product presentation. With Kay’s Jaxxon digital brand targeting younger customers with gold chains and bracelets mostly, “We are fast-tracking a rollout,” Yoakum said, noting the Jaxxon look is inspired by sports culture. “It’s very affordable, but will move to more investment jewelry later.”

Changes are also happening within Kay’s 1,003 stores, which include 882 Kay stores and 121 outlets.

“We’ve begun to change how the customer shops and modernize the stores with a new design,” including easier navigation and updated graphics. “Jewelry shopping is very traditional. It needs to be for security and other reasons.” But Kay is piloting open sell, where customers can interact with Rocksbox jewelry that’s no longer kept under glass. Signet acquired Rocksbox in 2021. “It’s rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets — lower-ticket, very everyday jewelry,” compared to Kay’s higher-priced fine jewelry offering.

Men’s shops with jewelry and watches inside Kay stores are being rolled out to about 200 locations. Each occupies about 25 linear feet. Kay stores average 2,500 square feet.

Yoakum said the Love All In campaign “embraces” a more relatable vision of love that reflects the realities of today’s relationships and expands the brand beyond traditional milestones to celebrate the full spectrum of love. “By celebrating the many forms love can take, the platform reflects how people connect, express themselves and mark meaningful moments,” she said.

“At a time when people are encouraged to play it cool and hold something back, Kay is taking the opposite position,” Yoakum said. “We believe the best things in life happen when you go all in, and love is no exception.”

She explained that Kay is no longer only connecting with the usual milestones that get celebrated, such as birthdays or anniversaries. It’s begun tying into a broader range of life experiences that customers could consider milestones and cause for celebration, such as the start of a new friendship or a job promotion. Yoakum said the intent is for Kay’s messaging to be “more modern, more transparent to this customer that does not define what love should look like. It’s love that happens on their terms.”

The new brand identity and creative campaign will be seen across television, streaming, digital, social and creator content.

Love All In launched with “Fall In,” a 60-second short set to Grammy-winning artist Charli XCX’s “Everything Is Romantic,” featuring singer/songwriter Caroline Polachek. The commercial depicts a series of relationships and moments of connection, portraying love at different stages and expressed in different ways. Jewelry is not the protagonist, but does play a role in the story.

Other elements of the rebranding include:

Yoakum said Love All In is an offshoot of Signet’s “Grow, Brand, Love” strategy centered on differentiating the four core brands in Signet’s portfolio — Kay, Zales, Jared and Blue Nile — and bring greater style and design-led items to the assortments; pump up bridal jewelry, and strive for greater growth overall.

On Wednesday, Signet reported it managed to turn a profit for the second quarter ended Aug. 1, with diluted earnings per share of $1.33, compared to a loss per share of 22 cents a year ago. Sales reached $1.5 billion on a same-store sales increase of 2.2 percent. Operating income reached $87.5 million, up from $2.8 million in the year-ago quarter, and adjusted operating income totaled $107.2 million, up from $85.4 million a year ago. Signet raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $10.45 to $12.15, from previous guidance of from $9.20 to $11, reflecting year-to-date operating performance, additional share repurchases, tariff refunds and the terms of a new consumer credit agreement.

“Building on this momentum, we are accelerating our key brand initiatives, including merchandise refreshes, enhancements to both the online and in-store customer experience and a more modern and emotionally engaging marketing approach,” said J.K. Symancyk, Signet’s chief executive officer. “By leveraging the full strength of our diversified portfolio, we are entering the back half of the year well-positioned to deliver compelling value throughout the holiday season for customers across a broad range of income levels.” Signet does not break out results on its divisions.

“With the longevity that Kay has, we’re in an enviable position,” Yoakum said. “People are very aware of Kay,” and its sticky jingle, “Every Kiss Begins With Kay,” which Yoakum said “will be honored as an historical touchpoint.”

“Our job now is to make ourselves more relevant,” Yoakum said.

The campaign is driven around moving from what could be considered Kay’s romanticized or “fairy-tale”-like expression of love into “a more honest, genuine love that is not just about the Kay story but also about the customer’s story,” Yoakum said. “The customer today is very different. They don’t take themselves seriously in a fairy-tale way. They want love on their terms. We’re not walking away from the equity we have, but we need to be where the customer is at.”

The heart of the Kay business is bridal, including diamonds, which by definition caters to 25- to 35-year-olds. With the rebranding, “It’s not as if we are looking to change to a younger customer,” Yoakum said. “We’re looking to be more relevant to the customer who is out there today, and potentially ones we don’t have. The next generation of Kay customer really matters to us.”

Kay, she said, has a solid business with Millennials, as well as with customers up to around age 45 typically buying jewelry as gifts to mark their milestones. “The next-generation customer soon to be married — that’s where the future of our bridal business is really,” said Yoakum.

“We want Love All In to be a part of culture, not just live in our advertising,” said Lisa Laich, chief marketing officer of Signet. “A runway, a football field, on the streets of SoHo. These are places where people are already showing up for each other, and Kay is proud to be a part of these meaningful moments.”