US jewellery label Stella & Dot to exit European market

By

Sarah Ahssen

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Mar 13, 2019

US jewellery and accessories label Stella & Dot, specialised in direct door-to-door and online sales, will cease operations in Europe on April 7.

“Regrettably, the market situation in Europe has become very tough. In the last few years, the pound sterling and the euro devalued by nearly 20% compared to the US dollar, causing a sharp decline in our margins while our operating costs have increased,” wrote the founder of Stella & Dot, Jessica Herrin, in a letter addressed to the company’s European door-to-door sales representatives, published on the BBC News website.

The San Francisco-based company landed in the UK and Germany in 2011 and 2012, and in France and Ireland in 2013 and 2014. It currently has about 4,000 sales representatives in Europe. In France, Stella & Dot stated it had 1,200 ‘stylists’ – as the brand’s representatives are called – at the start of 2018. Stella & Dot’s products are priced upwards of €18, and are mostly below the €100 mark.

Stella & Dot was founded in 2003 and counts Sequoia Capital investment fund among its stakeholders. In 2018, the company is said to have paid nearly $400 million in commissions to its 50,000 representatives, the vast majority of whom operate in the USA and Canada.

Stella & Dot has not disclosed its revenue results.