(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Richline Group, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, has acquired select assets of Silpada Designs, including the “Silpada” brand name, its jewelry designs and all sterling silver and fashion jewelry inventory.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
From its humble beginnings as a business founded by stay-at-home moms, Silpada saw stunning success, becoming the world’s largest home party seller of sterling silver jewelry. Over the past three years significant investments were made to keep Silpada operating as the company worked to enhance and evolve its business to remain relevant in an evolving market.
As it struggled, the company shut down its online business earlier this year.
Richline Group, a manufacturer and marketer of fine jewelry brands, will continue to produce and market the Silpada brand through new channels, focusing on Silpada’s sterling silver jewelry heritage.
While the Kelly and Walsh families will no longer be a part of Silpada moving forward, they are “extremely pleased that the Silpada brand will live on as a member of the Richline family of brands.”
“We see a tremendous opportunity to bring Silpada back to its creative roots. We plan to focus exclusively on these unique and accessible sterling silver designs that have clearly resonated with so many women across the world. We look forward to honoring the Silpada legacy while finding new ways to invigorate this unique and nationally-recognized brand”, said Richline Group CEO, Dennis Ulrich.
Going forward Richline plans to refocus the Silpada name around its sterling silver offerings. For the balance of 2016, Richline will continue serving Silpada’s loyal customer base with the core products Silpada is best known for, as well as a previously unreleased line of jewelry, as it refines a new direction forward for this national leader in silver jewelry.
In addition to ongoing retail sales for the brand, Richline will continue honoring the Silpada Lifetime Guarantee that was in place prior to June 1, 2016 for all qualified purchases until September 2017.
© 2016 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.