Watches of Switzerland has bought Italian handcrafted jewellery business Roberto Coin Inc in a £104.1m ($130m) deal.
The jewellery retailer said the acquisition will help it fulfil its growth strategy to “trend within the global luxury jewellery market towards branded jewellery”.
Roberto Coin Inc has been a partner of Watches of Switzerland for over a decade and is currently the sixth largest brand in the US by sales and retail.
The brand will continue to operate as a standalone company within the group and the founding Coin family will retain a seat on the business’ board.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Watches of Switzerland chief executive Brian Duffy described Roberto Coin Inc as a “hugely popular, growing brand, occupying a strong position in the market, underpinned by product quality, design creativity and imagination”.
“We believe there is significant opportunity to leverage our proven retail expertise in luxury branded jewellery.
“The luxury branded jewellery category has consistently outperformed the wider jewellery sector, and we see further strategic and operational opportunities for the business within the broader Group. We are committed to our new wholesale partners and excited to work with them and help them grow with Roberto Coin.
“Today’s strategically and financially attractive acquisition is indicative of our ambition and the momentum we are building in this exciting category.
“It will allow us to take one of the fastest growing jewellery brands in the US and use our retail and operational expertise to accelerate growth and further elevate the Roberto Coin proposition in North and Central America”.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
