Kendra Scott is the queen of #RushTok.
Though she herself is decades out of college, her Austin, Texas-based jewellery brand’s multi-coloured pendant necklaces and earrings are omnipresent in aspiring sorority girls’ outfit videos. Some are “Gems” – participants in the brand’s campus ambassador programme. It rolled out game-day accessories in team colours — Texas burnt orange and Alabama crimson — and brought a coffee truck in Scott’s signature yellow to tour campuses across the South.
Winning over college girls, Scott said, is just the start.
“They influence the younger generation, they influence their moms,” she said. “We have people coming in that have worn our jewelry since middle school, and who are now having their first baby.”
And Scott has big plans for those lifelong customers. Last month, she launched eyewear, one of just a few permanent offerings outside jewellery (there is also fragrance as well as a collaboration with Wrangler last year). Next up are cowboy boots, due out this week under her pricier, Western-themed Yellow Rose label, which she said she hopes will kick off a transformation of her jewellery line into a “boot to brim” lifestyle brand.
Yellow Rose, named for her ranch outside Austin which she has called home for the last 16 years, targets the post-graduate crowd. Pieces include bolo tie-inspired necklaces and turquoise pendant earrings, which retail for up to $2,500, compared with $60 for its Elisa pendant necklaces, a sorority girl favourite.
The boots are just one of many recent changes to the business. Late last year, Kendra Scott received “significant” minority investment from Singapore-based firm 65 Equity Partners, according to the brand, which reportedly valued the brand at over $1 billion. As part of the move, chief executive Tom Nolan departed the company; Scott is stepping back into the role on an interim basis. This year, Kendra Scott and Yellow Rose will have opened another 25 stores, for a total of over 159 across the United States, from major shopping areas like Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and Soho in New York to Mississippi, Utah, Colorado, and even at Disney Springs in Orlando, Fla.
In expanding from jewellery to apparel, Scott is venturing into a booming Westernwear category, but one where her brand is the untested upstart rather than the default choice. To start, the boots will only sell online and in Yellow Rose’s three stores in Austin, Dallas and Houston — cities where there’s plenty of competition when it comes to selling Western footwear and accessories.
She’s betting the goodwill — and fervent loyalty — she’s built in other categories will translate. The brand, which has crossed $500 million in annual sales, has seen 19 straight quarters of positive revenue growth as of July.
“Jewellery will always be the core, the heart and soul of the Kendra Scott brand. But taking that jewellery designer’s eye into other categories is really exciting,” Scott said. “Using the things that our customer knows us for, unique shapes and innovative materials, can translate really beautifully and separate us from our competitors.”
The Kendra Scott Craze
Think of Kendra Scott as Pandora’s younger cousin, but with more southern flair — an accessible giant in a space historically dominated by luxury players like Cartier and Tiffany or small mom-and-pop jewellers.
From the brand’s early years, Scott wanted to create a product that felt fashion-forward but appealed to consumers of all ages. That came through in price — one of her first big hits, the Danielle earrings, which featured the oval-shaped pendant shape that is still the brand’s signature, retailed for less than $100 a pair. But it was also seen in presentation and how she connected with consumers.
For instance, before the 2008 financial crisis, she exclusively sold through department stores and boutiques, which led to healthy growth, but made her vulnerable as retailers went under and buyers she knew were laid off.
When she opened her first store, in Austin in 2010, it deepened her relationship with her customers, she said. At her store, jewellery was displayed outside of cases, allowing customers to pick pieces up and try them on for themselves. The brand also offered a version of its “colour bar” online customisation offering in stores.
Fifteen years later, the brand now operates 159 stores across the US, hosting birthday parties and bachelorette events where customers create necklaces or bracelets. That personal, customisable element of its jewellery has been a major selling point for younger customers, who want to stand out even while they “feel like they’re part of a club,” said Bella Luu, 17, a high school senior who is vocal about her love for the brand on TikTok.
“Kendra Scott makes it feel more personal,” she said. “You can pick out your own combinations and different styles and really make it feel like you.”
And though its jewellery assortment is broader and more upscale, incorporating lab-grown stones and even engagement ring options, the brand has kept its offering relatively affordable. It moved upmarket slowly, starting with demi-fine, before adding diamonds (lab-grown) and 14 karat gold pieces. Even the fine jewellery pieces, while pricier than the Kendra Scott average, are sold exclusively through the brand in order to keep a better control on pricing and margins.
Selling the two side-by-side, too, she said, is more reflective of how she sees women styling jewellery today.
“You’re wearing your diamond tennis bracelet alongside your fashion jewellery cuff. Everybody is mixing and matching,” she said. “We can go from an entry price point of $35 on up to a $6,000 price point, and we have customers that are buying both.”
Building the World of Kendra Scott
Now, Scott wants to convince the same customer who comes to Kendra Scott for jewellery to think of it as an option for sunglasses, cowboy boots and soon enough, more. Faith in Scott’s ability to do so is a big part of what convinced 65 Equity Partners to come on as a minority partner.
“It’s rare to find a brand that truly connects with consumers across generations and geographies,” Matt Doherty, investment principal at 65 Equity Partners, wrote in an email. “Kendra Scott is a brand that loyal customers feel a part of and want more from, with so many more potential consumers to reach and welcome into across the US and beyond.”
The boots, of which there will be three styles to start, will mirror the jewellery when it comes to price, ranging from $298 to $398 — a splurge in line with brands like Tecovas. Scott’s offering, however, is more fashion-centric and more targeted towards a female customer (there are two styles for women and one for men) for which there are fewer dedicated options on the market.
Because they’ll be sold only in Yellow Rose stores, they will be more niche to start. While Kendra Scott has leaned on mass reach and a store concept that can be applied across regions, there will be fewer overall Yellow Rose retail locations — in addition to the current three, one will open in Nashville by the end of the year — and each shop will be designed to reflect the city it’s located in, in hopes of making it more of a true destination.
“When you’re in Nashville, you’re going to want to go, because it’s going to be different than the store in San Antonio,” she said.
In those stores, she wants to bring in product from outside the Kendra Scott umbrella to add to the ranch “vibe,” including vintage fashion and belt buckles that speak to the brand’s Western ethos. More launches are in the pipeline, she added, including home goods.
Still, as the eyewear launch implies, she sees potential in building out more categories for Kendra Scott, too.
“The idea is to immerse yourself in this lifestyle, and half my lifestyle is in the city and half is in the country,” she said. “I wanted these stores to feel that way. Kendra Scott is the city, and Yellow Rose is the church.”
