According to Forbes, Signet Jewelers—the world’s largest diamond jewelry retailer with brands like Kay, Zales, and Jared—has combined its digital and IT functions under a new leader. Raghu Sagi joined the $6.7 billion company earlier this year as its Chief Digital and Technology Officer, reporting directly to CEO J.K. Symancyk. His hiring follows the rollout of Signet’s “Grow Brand Love” strategy, which aims to expand beyond bridal into fashion and everyday jewelry. The company recently posted $1.4 billion in sales for its latest quarter, a 3.1% increase year-over-year, with same-store sales also rising. Sagi’s mandate is to break down silos and use technology to improve customer experiences across all touchpoints.
Sagi’s Retail Pedigree
On paper, Sagi’s resume is a perfect fit. He’s led tech at Carter’s, was CIO for the massive Inspire Brands restaurant portfolio, and had stints at Sephora and Walmart. That’s a career built on managing technology for portfolios of distinct consumer brands, which is exactly Signet’s structure with its 11 different store names. So he gets the challenge. The question is whether the jewelry business, with its high-value, low-frequency purchases tied to emotional moments, is a different beast entirely. Selling a diamond engagement ring isn’t quite the same as selling a onesie or a roast beef sandwich, even if the backend tech principles are similar.
The Silo Problem
Here’s the thing: combining digital and IT is a classic, almost cliché, move for legacy retailers trying to get faster. For decades, customer-facing digital teams and back-office IT operations lived in separate worlds, with different goals and speeds. Merging them makes total sense in theory. But in practice, it’s a brutal organizational and cultural lift. You’re asking infrastructure engineers who keep point-of-sale systems running to think like product managers obsessed with conversion rates. Sagi says he’s less concerned with the tech itself than the experiences it enables. That’s the right mindset, but it’s easier said than done when you’re also responsible for keeping the lights on in 2,800 stores.
The Real Test Ahead
Signet’s early numbers are encouraging, but the macro environment for discretionary spending, especially on luxury items, is shaky. The push into lab-grown diamonds and everyday fashion jewelry is smart diversification. But can technology really drive that brand love? Or is it more about merchandising, marketing, and store experience? Sagi’s role is to provide the foundational tech and data platforms so each brand can execute its own priorities faster. That’s a support function, not a magic wand. If the Grow Brand Love strategy document is the blueprint, his team has to build the plumbing and wiring without getting in the way. It’s a tough, unglamorous job. And in a physical-heavy business like jewelry, where trust and touch matter so much, even the best digital experience has to seamlessly connect to a store associate. That integration is the hardest part, and where most of these transformations stumble.
