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In the 1920s, Morris (M.B.) and William Zale had a vision: to provide customers with quality merchandise at the lowest possible price. This vision became a reality when the first Zales Jewelers store opened in Wichita Falls, Texas, on March 29, 1924.

With a credit plan of "a penny down and a dollar a week," the Zale brothers launched a marketing strategy considered to be revolutionary at the time, and thus made jewelry and other merchandise affordable to the average working American. Friendly customer service, liberal credit policies, and dedicated employees led to great success and expansion, with 12 stores in Oklahoma and Texas by 1941.

During World War II, Zales Jewelers responded to the limited production of consumer goods by maintaining its current prices on jewelry, limiting expenses, and looking for growth opportunities. These efforts were rewarded in 1944 with the acquisition of Corrigan's of Houston, Zales' first "carriage trade" (fine jewelry) store, whose purchase eventually launched the Bailey Banks & Biddle brand.

In 1946, Zales Jewelers moved its headquarters from Wichita Falls to Dallas. The corporate offices were housed in the Mercantile Bank Building, the first of several locations. The company continued to prosper and in 1952, a profit sharing plan was introduced to employees.

Zales Jewelers took major steps in 1957 to broaden its reach in the marketplace. The first shopping center location was opened, marking a major shift from its strategy of operating only downtown stores. The same year, Zales announced the initial public offering of its stock (ZLC) and then began trading its public shares on the American Stock Exchange the following year.

The 1960s were a decade of diversity. The 119-store chain began branching out into other markets - shoes, sporting goods, drug stores, furniture and catalogue stores. In fact, the shareholders decided to change the company name to Zale Corporation to reflect the diversity of the business.

The decade of the '70s brought continued expansion. Zale Corporation grew to more than 1,700 stores and posted a single-day sales record of $10 million.

In 1984, Zale Corporation unveiled its newest acquisition - the 890-carat "Incomparable Diamond," the largest internally flawless diamond in the world. The next year, Zale moved its world headquarters into a 430,000-square-foot complex in Irving, Texas, its current location.

The company's history was significantly altered with the 1986 leveraged buyout of Zale Corporation by Peoples Jewellers of Canada and Swarovski International of Austria. Expansion continued, however, with the purchase in 1989 of the Gordon's Jewelers chain of 469 stores.

The 1990s marked another critical turning point for the corporation when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1992. The following year, the company emerged from bankruptcy after restructuring its debt. Five years later, 1998 became the "breakaway year" for Zale with annual sales that topped $1.3 billion - up from $920 million in 1994 - and a 25 percent net earnings growth (excluding unusual items). During its tremendous turnaround year, the company showed profit in all four quarters for the first time since the reorganization. That same year, Zales Outlet was launched, giving the corporation 13 locations in premier outlet centers in the United States.

Expansion again became the primary growth strategy with two major acquisitions: Peoples Jewellers of Canada in 1999 and Piercing Pagoda, Inc. in 2000.

In 2007, Zale divested the Bailey Banks & Biddle brand to focus on the core business and increase returns on capital.

As a leading specialty retailer of fine jewelry, Zale now operates over 2,200 retail locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico under the following brand names: Zales Jewelers, Zales Outlet, Gordon's Jewelers, Peoples Jewellers, Mappins Jewelers, Piercing Pagoda, Plumb Gold, and Silver & Gold Connection. Zale also operates online at www.zales.com and www.gordonsjewelers.com .

Zale Corporation (ZLC:NYSE)

		View list of Analyst Firms
Each recommendation received from contributors is mapped to one of the I/B/E/S standard ratings. A consensus recommendation is determined by an average of the numeric values, rounding that mean value to the nearest integer. This area currently displays US research coverage only. In many cases, non-US related research coverage can be accessed from the homepage of the respective company.
Consensus 30 25 27.43 Previous Close 32 Graph Key Price targets are calculated by estimating future earnings per share and then applying a price-to-earnings multiple, known as the P/E ratio.		1.16 0.87 - 0.87 - 1.16 Apr07 Jul07 Oct07 Jan08 Apr08 Jul08  Estimate    Reported Earning View earnings surprise data table for more information.
7/2009  4 of 6 estimates changed Up: 3 Down: 1    7/2009 EPS Mean % change 15.393%  0.903      1 Month Ago  1.042      Current Estimate momentum measures changes in analyst sentiment over time and may be an indicator of future price movements.
Graph Key
ZLC 1057.41% Industry* 4.14% *RETAILING - GOODS Earnings Growth is the measure of year on year earnings per share (EPS) growth from the prior fiscal year, expressed as a percentage. View Forecast Earnings Growth .		ZLC 26.33 Industry*  17.34 *RETAILING - GOODS Price/Earnings ratio is a widely used stock evaluation measure. View P/E data for the next four years for this security.

What The Brokers Say

Trades for 02-Sep-2008

Time	Volume / Share Price
16:01	3,700 @ $27.43
16:01	2,100 @ $27.43
15:59	200 @ $27.43
15:59	100 @ $27.43
15:59	100 @ $27.43

Dividend Information
Dividend Yield:	0.00 %
Dividend Yield 5yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend Rate:	$ 0.00 %
Dividend Payout Ratio:	0.00 %
Dividend Payout Ratio 5yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend Growth Rate 3yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend Growth Rate 5yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend AllStar™ Ranking:
Consecutive Div. Increases:	0 years
Dividend Payment Type:	None
Dividend Declaration Date:	None
Dividend Ex Date:	None
Dividend Record Date:	None
Dividend Pay Date:	None
Dividend Amount:	0.0000
Dividend Payments:	Last 12 months payments: 0
Dividends Paid Since >	None

Zale Corporation (ZLC:NYSE)

		View list of Analyst Firms
Each recommendation received from contributors is mapped to one of the I/B/E/S standard ratings. A consensus recommendation is determined by an average of the numeric values, rounding that mean value to the nearest integer. This area currently displays US research coverage only. In many cases, non-US related research coverage can be accessed from the homepage of the respective company.
Consensus 30 25 27.43 Previous Close 32 Graph Key Price targets are calculated by estimating future earnings per share and then applying a price-to-earnings multiple, known as the P/E ratio.		1.16 0.87 - 0.87 - 1.16 Apr07 Jul07 Oct07 Jan08 Apr08 Jul08  Estimate    Reported Earning View earnings surprise data table for more information.
7/2009  4 of 6 estimates changed Up: 3 Down: 1    7/2009 EPS Mean % change 15.393%  0.903      1 Month Ago  1.042      Current Estimate momentum measures changes in analyst sentiment over time and may be an indicator of future price movements.
Graph Key
ZLC 1057.41% Industry* 4.14% *RETAILING - GOODS Earnings Growth is the measure of year on year earnings per share (EPS) growth from the prior fiscal year, expressed as a percentage. View Forecast Earnings Growth .		ZLC 26.33 Industry*  17.34 *RETAILING - GOODS Price/Earnings ratio is a widely used stock evaluation measure. View P/E data for the next four years for this security.

What The Brokers Say

Trades for 02-Sep-2008

Time	Volume / Share Price
16:01	3,700 @ $27.43
16:01	2,100 @ $27.43
15:59	200 @ $27.43
15:59	100 @ $27.43
15:59	100 @ $27.43

Dividend Information
Dividend Yield:	0.00 %
Dividend Yield 5yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend Rate:	$ 0.00 %
Dividend Payout Ratio:	0.00 %
Dividend Payout Ratio 5yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend Growth Rate 3yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend Growth Rate 5yr Avg:	0.00 %
Dividend AllStar™ Ranking:
Consecutive Div. Increases:	0 years
Dividend Payment Type:	None
Dividend Declaration Date:	None
Dividend Ex Date:	None
Dividend Record Date:	None
Dividend Pay Date:	None
Dividend Amount:	0.0000
Dividend Payments:	Last 12 months payments: 0
Dividends Paid Since >	None