Signet Jewelers Ltd. (Ratner Group 1949–1993 then Signet Group plc to September 2008) is, as of 2015, the world's largest retailer of diamond jewellery. The company is domiciled in Bermuda and headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The group operates in the middle market jewellery segment and has number one positions in the US, Canada and UK speciality jewellery markets. Certain brands (Jared in the US and H. Samuel/Ernest Jones/Leslie Davis in the UK) operate in the upper middle market. Signet Jewelers owns and operates the companies Blue Nile, Zales, Kay Jewelers, Jared, JamesAllen.com, and others. History The group was founded in 1949 and grew organically before expanding rapidly through a series of acquisitions in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was formerly known as the Ratner Group. Gerald Ratner, a previous CEO who built the company from 130 stores to 2500, made possibly the most famous gaffe in twentieth-century British business when he explained to a major business conference that the reason why one of his products was so cheap was that it was "total crap". He then went on to unfavourably compare some of the company's earrings with a 99p prawn sandwich. His remarks were gleefully reported by the media. The company lost over 500 million pounds off its share price and consumers subsequently avoided the Ratner branded stores, nearly 300 of which were closed between January 1992 and May 1994 as the group went through a financial restructuring. Ratner resigned in November 1992, and the group changed its name to Signet Group plc in September 1993. This perceived lack of judgement and contempt for the customer gave rise to the expression "doing a Ratner". The company moved its primary stock market listing from the London to the New York Stock Exchange on 11 September 2008, changing its name to Signet Jewelers Limited in the process. The firm moved its country of domicile from the United Kingdom to Bermuda on the same day, although it retains headquarters in Akron, Ohio. In 2012, Signet acquired ULTRA Diamonds and converted most of ULTRA stores to Jared Vault & Kay Jewelers Outlets. In February 2014, Signet Jewelers Ltd. agreed to buy Zale Corporation, with Zale shareholders receiving USD$21 a share in cash in USD$1.4 billion deal. This merger created a $6.2 billion firm. In July 2017, Virginia Drosos was appointed CEO of Signet