Littman Jewelers, Inc.
Edison, NJ
Transaction Value: +$170 Million
Founded in 1902, Littman Jewelers was the largest privately held, semi-guild retail jewelry store chain and among the best known and most respected retail jewelry brands and operators in the U.S. Littman operated 153 stores in carefully targeted consumer markets from Connecticut to Florida and was the fifth largest U.S. retail jeweler overall.
“The Etkin & Company team worked with us for years as we navigated challenge after challenge in our business, industry and the economy. But Bill Etkin was always the first person to suggest that we pass on an offer he brought if he felt he could improve upon it with another acquirer. My brother and I will always remember that about him. And then he delivered a fantastic result with the Fred Meyer/Kroger deal.”
The +$170 million transaction Etkin & Company developed and executed on behalf of Littman and the Littman shareholders with Fred Meyer Jewelers, Inc., a subsidiary of NYSE-listed Kroger, Inc. (symbol: KR), enabled Fred Meyer to immediately become the third largest U.S. retail jeweler, complemented and leveraged Fred Meyer’s largely west coast retail jewelry presence and drove operating efficiencies, economies of scale and profits across the newly-created national platform.