Blue Nile’s Sean Kell on Leading the Company Toward  the $1 Billion Mark

Blue Nile CEO Sean Kell — now leading what claims to be the world's largest online retailer of fine jewelry and diamonds — on charting a holistic overhaul toward $1 billion in sales.

Blue Nile’s chief executive officer Sean Kell is steering the company’s ship at a time when jewelry e-commerce is seeing significant growth. With this new wind in its sails, Blue Nile — which claims it is the biggest online retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry in the world — is now angling for $1 billion in annual revenue, a goal that Kell is convinced the company can meet within two to five years.

“We really think we are trying to be a billion-dollar fine jewelry destination. The shift is trying to make a company that started as an engagement ring website transition to a billion-dollar fine jewelry brand and that is the big change — that’s the long-term goal,” said the executive, who has also held senior management roles at Expedia and Starbucks.

The Seattle-based company is on track to hit $600 million in revenue for 2021 and is growing in the mid-20 percent range each year — a considerable jump that has only been helped by the pandemic’s virtual shopping climate. Blue Nile was delisted from the stock market in 2017 with a $500 million buyout from Bain Capital — at which point the company was clocking around $500 million in annual revenues.

In order to further accelerate growth, Kell has plotted a holistic twofold overhaul of Blue Nile’s operations, with the aim of drawing in new shoppers while retaining its core clientele. Scaling at this rate will entail a considerable doubling-down on product design; a redesign of the company’s site; a revision of its branding and marketing plans; a considerable roll out of new physical retail spaces; a strategic expansion in global markets, and keeping up with important social movements like sustainability and transparency.

Blue Nile’s direct-to-consumer model and high volume have allowed the company to keep its diamond prices lower than many competitors and attract value-driven consumers. But during the pandemic, Blue Nile saw shoppers purchase pieces of a generally higher value — with the site seeing its average purchase price jump by between 10 and 20 percent. This has inspired Kell to push Blue Nile’s assortment “upward.”

In January, Blue Nile introduced Ten/ten — a line of fashion-forward engagement rings created by independent designers in collaboration with De Beers. Pieces by cult indie designers like Wwake and Bea Bongiasca received an “amazing reaction,” according to Kell.

This success inspired him to push for more fashion-forward product in Blue Nile’s assortment that will help swing the company’s profile more upscale.

In an ideal world, the site will feature trendier styles like those in the Ten/ten collection, balanced with the kind of commercial pieces it currently features. An expansion of the company’s engagement ring offering will come later this year, featuring colored stones and an expanded custom design experience.

From: WWD