A shareholder group led by Investindustrial and L. Catterton (formerly known as L Capital), and including 21Investimenti, Ergon Capital, Wise and NB Renaissance, is to sell its investment in Stroili, an Italian affordable jewellery brand.
The acquisition is being made by THOM Europe, the holding company of Histoire d’Or, the number one jewellery retailer in France with a strong presence in Europe, in order to complete its European expansion ambitions.
Since Investindustrial’s entry into Stroili in 2006, the company has evolved into a branded fashion retailer focused on both shopping mall and city centre retailing with an increasing footprint in directly operated stores.
Under the ownership of Investindustrial and its co-investors, Stroili has achieved its repositioning by: i) shifting its product focus towards higher margin own-branded products, including the launch of new Stroili products; ii) continuing investment in its retail store network, with approximately an additional EUR130 million having been invested into the growth of the business since 2006; iii) increasing its focus on brand management and advertising; iv) consolidating product lines under the Stroili brand, which has established itself as one of the most-recognisable in Italy, compared to 3 different brands at entry; v) undertaking major improvements in store layouts; vi) refinancing its capital structure; and vii) vertically integrating its operating model by acquiring a distributor, to create a dedicated channel to service the wholesale business.
Stroili has been built into a better and more sustainable company, despite a very challenging Italian macro and retail environment throughout most of the ownership period.
"Consumer retail is an important strategic sector for the Italian economy which has come under intense pressure in recent years as a result of a weaker operating environment following the deepest recession in recent times", says Andrea C Bonomi, managing principal of Investindustrial. "During this difficult time we are proud to have supported a long-term project aimed at strengthening this important sector. Stroili has undergone a transformational change programme and since our entry has broadly tripled its revenues and doubled its EBITDA and headcount, creating approximately 1,000 new job opportunities, to achieve a 42 per cent share of the Italian affordable jewellery market. Positioning portfolio companies for future growth, through deeply operational investment plans, is one of our core competencies. These plans resonate well with trade buyers, like, in this case, THOM Europe. Under its new ownership, Stroili is now well positioned to unlock future growth.”
Maurizio Merenda, Stroili CEO, says: "During the 10 year partnership with Investindustrial and its co-investors, our company has been transformed from a local retail operator into the Italian leader in jewellery with a global customer base. Overall, we have become a better company with a stronger brand, a growing domestic and international network and a diversified product offering, which is increasingly focused on our profitable, own-branded products. We are grateful to our current shareholders for the significant contribution of expertise throughout an extremely challenging macro-economic recessionary period and we now move forward with the right strategic ownership partner for the next phase of growth.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the relevant competition authorities as well as specified ongoing due diligence processes, and is expected to be completed by the end of October 2016.
