Brilliant Earth Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRLT) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Beth Gerstein: Sure. Absolutely. As it relates to our ASP increase, we were really pleased to see that, ASPs were up for the engagement ring selection 4% and we saw particular strength in that $10,000 plus customer. I think it speaks to a lot of the investments that we’ve been making in terms of creating that premium brand and customer experience. Overall, because of the experience we’re providing as well as a differentiated product, we’re really able to drive higher price points. We continue to look across a variety of price points to make sure that we are introducing a curated selection that’s highly productive. I think we are also just seeing that, that customer is responding really well to some of these investments that we are making.

As it relates to the Fine Jewelry category, another really bright spot for the company, the fact that we hit the strongest Fine Jewelry quarter ever with 20% of our bookings in December just speaks to the strength in all of the efforts that we’re making. In terms of Fine Jewelry, I think what we’re really focused on is providing a really curated assortment. The strategy that we are introducing, which is to introduce innovation, really fresh, trend-forward product and then amplifying that product differentiating across the marketing, across our channels is really, I think, some of the, what’s been sparking strong engagement and really strong results there. We’ve been doing this across a variety of price points. I think the fact that we’re able to drive repeat and drive new as well as self-purchasing gifting kind of speaks to the efforts that we have.

One of the statistics that I was also proud of is the fact that, we have a 46% increase in customers whose first purchase is Fine Jewelry. We are increasingly being known as a destination, for higher price point Fine Jewelry and really across a wide range of assortments, so we’re able to meet customers where they are.

Unidentified Analyst: Great. And a follow-up on the opening of the new mall format. Would be great to hear any color you have on productivity and performance there. And then any considerations we should model in preopening costs and inventory build as you continue to open more mall formats in the future?

Beth Gerstein: Yes. What I would say about those the mall locations, we recognize it’s early. Definitely pleased with the locations that we’ve selected. What we’re encouraged by is that, we’ve seen good foot traffic both inside and outside the showrooms and in particular for walk-ins. We’ve been able to accommodate that appointment experience that we are so well known for, and we’re also encouraged that for our mall locations, the walk-in business is double the share of the business versus the rest of the fleet. It really showcases how important that walk-in experience is. And we really like this combination of walk-ins plus appointments. So overall, I would say still early in terms of our — we’ve only had three of these locations, but seeing promising results.

Jeff Kuo: And then in terms of the inventory costs and build we do have some inventory needs for our showrooms as we open them, but we do run in a very inventory efficient fashion, leveraging things like our virtual inventory so that we don’t have to scale up the inventory at the same level that the rest of the industry does, as we build out the fleet. And I think one point that we’re proud of is that over this past year, we’re actually able to decrease inventory as we opened 12 new showrooms and saw success in areas like fine jewelry. And I think that’s an a very helpful data point to show you how we can be nimble and agile to keep working capital efficient, even as we open new showrooms. So, we will add as we open new showrooms, but as we’ve seen with our recent results, we’ll do so in an efficient fashion.

Operator: Our next question will be coming from Edward Yruma of PSC. Your line is open.

Edward Yruma : Good afternoon, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. I guess first, some interesting commentary on some of the repositioning of the store fleet and adding new — kind of new functions new features. Is that a capital-intensive process? Or are you expecting rather to expense line, and I guess kind of what gives you the confidence that now is really the time to embrace kind of multichannel retailing? And then as a follow-up, good to hear the commentary on $10,000 and higher price points. Do you think that it’s because you’re seeing just better engagement trends there or have you done something proactively on the assortment side that’s allowing you to penetrate this premium side of the market more effectively? Thank you.

Beth Gerstein : Great. Well thanks for the question, Ed. In terms of how we’re thinking about the overall store fleet, maybe Jeff, do you want to just talk about how that’s flowing through?

Jeff Kuo : Yes, so for the investments for the investments in the store fleet, we’re going to approach how we make the amplification of the experiences in the existing store fleet, similar to how we’ve opened new showrooms. And that is to say that we do it in a capital-efficient way, being causing a really trying to drive strong ROI as we invest in the showrooms. And so, I think the overall approach will be to do so capital efficiently and in a targeted way where we’re really seeing results. And that’s been our approach to opening and managing the showrooms and just overall managing our capital. So, we’re going to do it in a targeted way.