Mayors Jewelers To Be Sold To British Holding Company

Birks Yorkdale store in North York, Ontario, Canada

In a multi-tiered deal Canadian jeweler, Birks Group, has agreed to sell its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mayors Jewelers, to British holding company, Aurum, in a transaction valued at $104.6 million.

As part of the transaction Birks entered into a five-year distribution agreement with Aurum to sell Birks fine jewelry in the U.K. through Aurum-owned retailers, Mappin & Webb, Goldsmiths, and on its e-commerce sites. In addition, the Birks collections will continue to be sold in the United States through Mayors’ stores.

“The agreement is an important achievement in the company’s strategy to develop the Birks brand into a global luxury brand,” Birks said in a statement.

The transaction, subject to specified closing conditions and purchase price adjustments, is expected to close in the fall of 2017.

Birks is a Montreal-based designer and manufacturer of jewelry that it retails (along with timepieces and gifts) through approximately 30 luxury jewelry stores in Canada under the Birks and Brinkhaus brands, and through a wholesale network. It also owns the U.S. luxury jewelry retail chain, Mayors Jewelers, which has approximately 17 stores in Florida and Georgia.

Aurum Holdings is the largest prestige luxury jewelers and timepieces retailer in the U.K. with approximately 140 stores and online retail sites. Its portfolio includes Watches of Switzerland, Goldsmiths, Mappin & Webb, Watchshop, The Watch Hut and The Watch Lab.

Birks in a statement said proceeds from the transaction will be used by to continue its “strategic growth initiatives,” specifically to invest in its Canadian stores and new store concepts, as well as in its whole activities and e-commerce, as part of the “company’s omni-channel plan.” Transaction proceeds will also be used to pay down outstanding debt under the company’s senior secured credit facilities that include term debt and working capital debt associated with Mayors.

“This transaction is a significant step in our efforts to strengthen our balance sheet to better position the company for growth as well as long-term shareholder value,” Jean-Christophe Bédos, president and CEO of Birks Group, said in a statement. “We believe that monetizing the value of Mayors gives us the ability to execute our strategic vision of investing in the Birks brand together with the retailing of internationally renowned jewelry and timepiece brands in Canada, thus transforming Birks into a global, omni-channel business.”

He added, “This transaction with Aurum also opens the doors to the U.K. market for our jewelry collections and we are extremely proud to join such a prestigious network as Aurum’s under the Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths banners.”

Brian Duffy, president of Aurum, said in a statement the purchase of Mayors works within the British company’s plan “to be an important part of the Swiss watch market in the USA.” The company recently announced that it will open a flagship Watches of Switzerland store in the new Hudson Yards development in New York.

“We have admired Mayors for some time and see a great deal of similarities with how we operate our business in the U.K. Mayors,” he said.

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Chinese Conglomerate Completes Acquisition Of Buccellati

Gangsu Gangtai Holding has completed its acquisition of Italian high jewelry house Buccellati. 

The Chinese conglomerate has acquired an 85% stake in the luxury jeweler, internationally known for its time-honored hand-crafted techniques developed in Italy. The transaction price was based on an equity value of €230 million ($271 million) for 100% of the company.

Gangtai says it plans to both sustain its presence in existing markets—namely Italy, Europe and North America—and to develop in the new markets—such as China, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe—with a five-year investment of €200 million ($236 million) that will fund 88 new Buccellati boutiques.

The deal was first announced in December 2016 and the closing was completed Tuesday at a press conference in Milan. In attendance was Xu Jiangang, founder and chairman of Gangatai Group, Andrea Buccellati, who will maintain his position as creative director, and Gianluca Brozzetti, who will continue as honorary chairman and CEO.

Buccellati, founded in Milan in 1919, is one of the most prestigious jewelers in Italy. It was family owned until 2013 when Clessidra, an Italian investment holding company, acquired a 67 percent stake of the company, with the remaining 33 percent retained by the founding family. 

With the new agreement Clessidra and the Buccellati family will retain the remaining 15 percent stake in the company. In addition, all jewelry making will remain at Buccellati’s headquarters. 

“Our will is to maintain Buccellati’s identity while enhancing all of the elements which make it one of the best known brands worldwide in the fine jewelry sector, including its craftsmanship, design and originality, which are the heritage of Italian jewelry,” Xu Jiangang said. 

“It is the will of the new shareholder,” Andrea Buccellati added, “to preserve the company’s uniqueness, especially its excellence, craftsmanship and quality. In this respect, Gangtai Group’s recommendation to keep the production in Italy represents a solid commitment.”

Gangtai Group is a privately held conglomerate in the consumer, culture, finance and health industries with a capitalization of approximately $3.5 billion and revenues of more than 1.4 billion. Its subsidiary, Gangsu Gangtai Holding (Group) Co. Ltd, is one of largest gold jewelry distributers and a leading internet jewelry retailer in China with more than 1.200 employees, and is focused on growing its presence in international luxury. 

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Investor Group Completes $520 million Acquisition of Blue Nile

An investor group comprised of Bain Capital Private Equity, Bow Street and Adama Partners completed the acquisition of online diamond and jewelry retailer Blue Nile Friday, paying $40.75 per share in cash. A Securities and Exchange Commission document said the total amount paid for the Seattle-based company was $520 million.

The transaction was first announced on Nov. 7, 2016, and was approved by Blue Nile's shareholders on February 2. Trading in Blue Nile’s common stock on NASDAQ will end February 21.

“Blue Nile has disrupted and transformed the way consumers shop for and purchase diamonds and fine jewelry by creating price transparency while simultaneously providing value to suppliers,” said Blue Nile Chairman, CEO and President Harvey Kanter. “As we enter the next phase of growth, Blue Nile will continue to expand our vision and focus on putting the customer first by reaching them the way they prefer to shop whether it's a computer, mobile device, or in one of our Webrooms.”

Blue Nile was founded in 1999 by Mark Vadon after he had a less than satisfying experience shopping for a diamond engagement ring through traditional retail routes.

The company was created during the infancy of the Web with the premise that choosing an engagement ring can be a simple process and can be done online. Education and disclosure helped consumers make informed decisions when choosing a diamond engagement ring.

Within 10 years it became one of the largest diamond and diamond engagement ring retailers in the U.S. and one of the early high-growth eCommerce darlings.

The company has an inventory of more than 200,000 diamonds with grading reports from the Gemological Institute of America or the American Gem Society. They can be paired with more than 200 settings. The overall result is that, according to company officials, Blue Nile provides more options and sells their jewels for less than traditional retail jewelers.

Since its founding the company says it has served more than 1.7 million customers and sold more than 1 million engagement rings and wedding bands, combined.

However, 18 years later Vadon is no longer with the company, and more recently it is showing signs that its robust growth in the U.S. is waning (The company sales are growing at a strong pace at its two international hubs in Europe and China). On the same day the acquisition was announced, Blue Nile released its third-quarter earnings report, which showed a year-over-year net sales decrease of 4.3 percent to $105.1 million for the period ended Oct. 2, 2016.

However, in a statement the new investors believe there is still room for growth. 

“Blue Nile is a unique business with a strong platform in an industry that is rapidly evolving and migrating online," said Ryan Cotton, a managing director at Bain Capital Private Equity.  "We are excited to … help Blue Nile continue to lead the transformation of the customer purchase experience in engagement rings and fine jewelry.”

In an October interview, Katner told me that he too believes there is plenty of room to diversify and grow in the U.S. and abroad. In the U.S., while Blue Nile is by far the largest Internet diamond jewelry retailer in the U.S. (and the world) with 50 percent of the market, he believes it has only 5 percent of the overall jewelry market. 

To capture more market share, Katner said the company is working to enhance their mobile capabilities, reach consumers through retail outlets, known as Webrooms, and enhance how it digitally displays their products. 

Blue Nile Webroom Roosevelt Field Mall

“Today’s consumer or the millennial consumer really requires choice,” he said in October. “The way we look at our business, it is no longer an eCommerce business or an Omni-channel business. It’s a business about commerce,” he said in October. “We believe that as we continue to engage the millennial customer, we can get more people to have the trust and confidence, and understand all of the benefits of buying from someone like Blue Nile online. The Webroom is an example of that. Enhancements to the phone or tablet or PC, which is ultimately the digital experience, are examples of that. Those are all important elements that actually accelerate our business.”

BofA Merrill Lynch served as exclusive financial advisor to Blue Nile, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati served as its legal advisor. Goldman Sachs & Co provided debt for the transaction, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to the Investor Group. 

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Citizen To Acquire Frederique Constant In a Swiss-Japanese Partnership

Frederique Constant Geneva headquarters

Citizen Watch Co., Ltd., has entered into an agreement to acquire the Geneva-based Frederique Constant Holding, the parent company of the Frederique Constant, Alpina and DeMonaco watch brands. 

The two companies in a joint statement Friday said the acquisition is part of the Japanese watch company’s “Citizen Global Plan 2018” business plan—a multi-brand strategy where Citizen seeks to complete its brand portfolio by acquiring Swiss brands. 

The acquisition will enable Citizen Watch to strengthen its brand portfolio, offering Swiss timepieces in three categories: traditional Swiss watches (Frederique Constant), sport watches (Alpina) and haute horlogerie (DeMonaco).

There was no mention whether MMT (Manufacture Modules Technologies Sàrl.) is part of the deal. MMT was founded a year ago as a joint venture between Frederique Constant Holding and Silicon Valley to bring an horological smartwatch open platform to the Swiss watch industry. 

Citizen said the present management personnel and staff will continue to hold the same positions after this acquisition.

“We have a great opportunity to expand the sales of Frederique Constant through our current distribution channels of Citizen branded watches, particularly in Japan and the U.S.” said Toshio Tokura, Citizen Watch CEO. “With the acquisition of Frederique Constant, the Citizen Watch Group will be able to augment its portfolio of brands and occupy the space in the markets where some of our competitors operate and further expand the presence of the Citizen brand in the market.” 

He added “Citizen will be able to achieve great synergy for sharing technologies and infrastructures in the future.”

Aletta and Peter Stas, who founded Frederique Constant Holding SA in 2008 to develop tradition high-quality Swiss timepieces at affordable prices, were always staunchly independent. They said they were approached by two companies a year ago and entered into discussions with them only when it became apparent their children were not interested in taking over the business.

“After a year of deep discussions, we felt best with one group in terms of expectations and strategy. This group required, specifically, to keep both of us and the current management team in place for at least five years,” the husband and wife owners said in their own statement. 

In the statement with Citizen, they said: “As we feel a tremendous commitment to the Frederique Constant Group and its people, we started to explore a potential collaboration to secure the company beyond ourselves. We have become increasingly impressed by the innovative technologies of the Citizen Group. We see the opportunity of Swiss-Japanese partnership to develop and market Accessible Luxury watches for the 21st century and beyond.” 

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Kering Acquires Ulysse Nardin, Pays 13 Times Earnings For High Watch Brand

Ulysse Nardin Marine Diver

Kering makes another jewelry and watch acquisition. This time the French multinational company said Wednesday it will acquire a 100 percent stake in the Swiss luxury watch brand Ulysse Nardin. The watchmaker will join Kering’s recently formed “Luxury – Watches and Jewellery” division headed by Albert Bensoussan. Kering added that the Ulysse Nardin management team, led by Chai Schnyder, president of the Board of Directors, and CEO Patrik P. Hoffmann, will remain in place.

Kering (formerly known as PPR) hasn’t been shy about upping its stakes in the “hard luxuries” category (jewelry and watches). François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chairman and CEO, said that in a statement that Ulysse Nardin, as one of the last remaining independent haute horlogerie brands, will reinforce its growing jewelry watch division, which consists of Boucheron, Dodo, Girard-Perregaux, JeanRichard, Pomellato and Qeelin. Three brands (Italian jewelers Pomellato and Dodo; and Hong Kong jeweler Qeelin) were acquired by Kering within the past two years. Those acquisitions along with Ulysse Nardin are evidence of the company’s pursuit of luxury jewelry and watch companies. Kering also owns brands in the high fashion, lifestyle and sports merchandising categories.

In addition, both companies say the acquisition will allow Ulysse Nardin to expand more rapidly in Asia. Expansion in Asia is something else Kering has been open about in recent years. 

“Ulysse Nardin benefits from a rich heritage, high profitability and solid growth prospects,” Pinault said. “Independent high-end watchmaking manufactures are rare. This is an opportunity that we had to seize, particularly because this structural acquisition will enable us to take advantage of numerous synergies with our existing brands. We have great ambitions for this company and we will help it continue its international expansion whilst staying faithful to its roots and its identity.” 

The company declined to give an acquisition price but during a conference call Wednesday, Jean-Marc Duplaix, Kering CFO and Jean-Francois Palus, Kering managing director, said the company paid 13 times Ulysse Nardin’s 2013 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Palus said it is a “fair (price) for a brand with such a rich heritage high visibility and growth prospects.”

As a private company, Ulysse Nardin doesn’t disclose much of its finances or manufacturing volume and Kering wouldn’t release those details. An analyst at the conference call asked if media estimates of annual sales of 250 million Swiss francs and annual turnover of 27,000 pieces per year were accurate. Duplaix responded by saying the “assumption you mentioned is quite sensible and so is the volume of watches the brand is selling per year.” He added that Ulysse Nardin “will become the backbone of our watch business.”

Ulysse Nardin, based in Le Locle, Switzerland, specializes in creating ultra-complicated timepieces, many of them considered groundbreaking achievements, using cutting-edge technologies and state-of-the-art materials. For example, it was one of the first companies to use silicon in its timepiece movements and is one of the few Swiss watchmakers to have its own production capacity for critical watch components, particularly regulating systems.

The independent company was founded in 1846 by Ulysse Nardin with its roots in the nautical world for navigational purposes. It was taken over and re-launched in 1983 by Rolf W. Schnyder who transformed it into a highly profitable business. After his unexpected and sudden death in 2011, Chai Schnyder, Rolf Schnyder's wife, and Hoffmann took over the lead of the company. 

The company still benefits from a very strong brand identity based on its historical expertise in marine chronometers.

“Joining Kering is an opportunity for Ulysse Nardin,” Chai Schnyder said. “It will allow the brand to carry on with its international expansion and continue to innovate, while assuring the long-term future of its knowledge and expertise and communiqué.”

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