There were some unexpectedly bright spots among Ohio retailers this holiday season.

One of the the most sparkling performances was that of Akron- based jewelry retailer Sterling Inc. and its London-based parent company Signet Group Plc. Signet shares, which trade on the London Exchange, posted their biggest gain in more than nine years after the owner of several mall jewelry chains, including Kay Jewelers and Osterman, said full-year earnings will increase and beat analysts’ forecasts due to stronger-than-expected holiday sales.

Signet, which competes with Zale Corp. and tiffany & co. in the United States, said pretax profit will rise from last year’s $293.8 million. Analysts had expected profit to be little changed after cutting their estimates last month.

The London retailer is gaining market share in the United States, where it has about 7 percent of the specialty jewelry market, 1 percent behind the market leader, Zale. Sales in U.S. stores open a year or more rose 4.7 percent in November through December, compared with gains of 1.3 percent at Zale and 1 percent at Tiffany bangles. Same- store sales are considered the best sign of a retailer’s health because they disregard store openings and closings.

“It’s a stunning U.S. performance and does show the strength of that business,” said John Baillie, a retail analyst at SG Securities.

The retailer’s sales benefited in part from increased spending on training, advertising and store upgrades, said Signet chief Terry Burman.

Hudson-based Jo-Ann Stores Inc., a leading national fabric and craft retailer, reported that December same-store sales increased 13 percent versus an 11 percent same-store sales increase in December of last year.

Year-to-date same-store sales increased 8.8 percent, versus a same-store sales increase of 5.5 percent for the same period last year.

The key drivers behind the strong December same-store sales performance were continued strength in Jo-Ann Stores’ core businesses, particularly sewing and home decorating, as well as heavy Christmas seasonal product sales late in the month, aided by end-of-season promotional pricing, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Jo-Ann Stores raised its earnings estimate for the full fiscal year by 15 cents per diluted share based on the strength of the December sales performance. The company now expects fiscal 2003 earnings per diluted share of $2.15 to $2.25. This revised guidance is predicated on a same-store sales growth assumption of 6 percent for the fourth quarter.

Columbus-based Big Lots said sales at stores open at least a year jumped 10.1 percent for the four weeks that ended on Dec. 28. Toys, holiday items and home furnishings led the growth, said the company, which reports sales for a different period than most retailers.

Overall sales were up 15.3 percent, the company said.

Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, based in the Columbus suburb of New Albany rings, didn’t fare quite as well as many Ohio retailers. Same-store sales were flat for the five weeks that ended on Saturday, but overall sales were up 19 percent. Based on the results, the company is now saying earnings for the quarter will be higher than projected.

But girls clothing retailer Limited Too, also based in New Albany, said it expects earnings for the quarter to be below expectations because of weak sales that led to significant markdowns. It is expecting same-store sales to fall about 10 percent to 11 percent for the quarter.

The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.