Investment bank Jeffries LLC have announced that they are assisting jewellery chain, Kendra Scott, in a sale of the company, and both parties insist a figure of around a billion dollars is achievable, according to sources who prefer to remain anonymous.
Analysts say the accessories firm has achieved remarkable growth since its 2002 inception when the eponymous founder started making jewellery in her garage.
The sources mentioned annual earnings in 2017 are forecast to be around $80 million for the Texas-based company, before depreciation and tax.
Both Jeffries and Kendra Scott declined to answer questions on the news and the sources asked for names to be withheld due to the sensitive nature of talks.
Kendra Scott has made a name in a niche market selling custom shaped rings, charms and necklaces using natural stones and fine gold finishing. The company also offers customers further customization of their items at special “colour bars” both on the high-street and at their e-store where they can micromanage their build.
The company has dozens of stores across the United States, especially the south of the country where it originally opened in Austin over 6 years ago. It also supplies department stores at wholesale prices.
“The amazing thing about Kendra Scott is that they seem to have struck a remarkable balance between price and fashion. Most of their pieces are under a hundred dollars and yet have featured on catwalks from Paris to New York,” said James Coleman, Managing Director and co-head of Portfolio Trading at Softbank CIBC International in a note to clients.
“They also have an excellent online footprint, especially in social media. It’s obvious they are heavily targeting “millennials” who have come to love anything customizable, especially if they can tinker online,” Coleman added.
Another big player in the online jewellery industry, Blue Nile Inc, said that they had agreed to be taken private and will be assisted by private equity company Bain Capital in a deal worth around half a million dollars.
