Headlines

Warren Buffett Will Try to Rescue Online Jewelry Retailer Gemvara

Published

10 years ago

April 29, 2016

INSTORE Staff

Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary acquires the e-commerce outfit.

Gemvara, once a darling of the online jewelry retailing world, has been acquired by the Richline Group, a subsidiary of the Warren Buffett-ran Berkshire Hathaway, the companies announced.

The Boston Globe reports that Richline, a major supplier of jewelry to retailers across the country, will hire more workers at Gemvara as it attempts to expand its footprint in the online sector. The article says that Gemvara has had trouble growing since it was founded in 2006, cycling through four CEOs and having to lay off a number of workers after it reached its peak headcount of 80 employees. It also failed to reach profitability last year.

“We are eager to integrate the Gemvara platform, technology and team into the Richline Group,” says Richline Group CMO Mark Hanna in a press release announcing the acquisition. “We believe that Gemvara’s differentiated platform will offer Richline’s retail partners additional value in the rapidly growing personalized jewelry space, and will also help them to enhance their overall e-commerce businesses.”

“The acquisition will enable Gemvara to grow faster, introduce new designs rapidly and expand on our success with a broader array of affordable fine jewelry,” says Gemvara President Jon Blotner in the release.

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