Kesslers

Kesslers acquires rival retail display specialist Carter Design Group

Kesslers International, a specialist in the design and manufacture of retail displays for jewellery and watch stores, has bought one of its UK rivals, Carter Design Group (Carters).

Kesslers was itself acquired in September last year by private equity firm Elaghmore and is aiming to bring scale and innovation to the business of interior design for retailers.

Carters, based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, has a particular strength in displays for watch brands, with clients including Breitling, Sekonda and Accurist.

All intellectual property owned by Carters will transfer to Elaghmore as part of the deal.

Kesslers and Carters will continue to operate from facilities in London and Leicestershire, although the entire UK business will be branded as Kesslers.

The company says it will open a 5000 square foot innovation lab in February that will be used to demonstrate futuristic concepts in retail including augmented reality, virtual reality, near field communication, radio frequency identification and IoT-enabled displays.

Kesslers says its sales increased by 8% in 2017 over turnover of £15.6 million in 2016 and the company is looking for double digit growth through 2018. It has not ruled out further acquisitions of complementary businesses.

Kesslers CEO Guy Stanton says that the Carters acquisition is an important signal of its focus on the jewellery and watch retail sector. “Carters is widely respected for its focus on creating stunning designs. The acquisition of Carters will further strengthen our position as a display specialist for the jewellery and watch industry. We are looking to provide innovative display solutions for watches and jewellery.”

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