Question: What publicly traded jewelry retailer was founded in Wichita Falls in 1924?
Answer: Zales. Russian-Jewish immigrants Morris and William Zale (born Zalewski) opened the first Zales Jewelers store, offering a revolutionary credit plan of “a penny down and a dollar a week.” By 1941, the company operated 12 stores in Texas and Oklahoma, and its headquarters relocated to Dallas in 1946. Zales went public and opened its first store in a mall in the 1950s. Today, Zales is owned by Signet Jewelers and has 422 stores in North America.
