Warren Buffet Expands His Jewelry Empire

Warren Buffet Expands His Jewelry Empire
Diamonds.net, NY
By Zach Helke Posted: 05/20/07 05:33 [Submit Comment]

RAPAPORT…Investment guru Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has acquired two gold jewelry manufacturers Ber-Oro International and Aurafin LLC to become the largest jewelry supplier in the United States.

The two new organizations will be combined to form the Richline Group which will continue to market the existing jewelry brands under their respective old names. This will save costs by maintaining a single operational and administrative division, Berkshire Hathaway stated in a May 18, 2007 press release.

Buffet’s previous jewelry purchases include that of Ben Bridge Jeweler, Borsheims Fine Jewelry and Helzberg Diamonds.

“The opportunity to partner with [Bel-Oro president] Dennis Ulrich, and his entire team, was one I couldn’t pass up,” Buffet, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, said. “They have done a remarkable job in building Bel-Oro from a standing start to the leader in its industry. And the best is yet to come.”

Bel-Oro president Dennis Ulrich is slated to become the chief executive officer of the newly created Richline Group, while Aurafin CEO Dave Meleski will be the company’s president.

“This is an unprecedented transaction in our industry,” said Meleski. “We are proud to have a top financial investor invest in what will now be the largest jewelry supply group in the U.S. It is an opportunity that my team and I optimistically embrace, and it will permit us to focus on merchandising, marketing and manufacturing jewelry, in order to help our customers compete better in a world where consumers have so many choices.”

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