Editor’s Note
This article details the acquisition of European Boutique’s luxury watch and jewellery business by Canada’s Birks Group for C$9 million. It also outlines the operations of the acquired company.
Canada’s Birks Group has acquired European Boutique’s luxury watch and jewellery business from its founders, the Sutkiewicz family, for C$9 million (approximately US$6,574,000).
Based in Toronto, Canada, European Boutique operates four multi-brand luxury watch and jewellery stores at Yorkdale, Square One, the Toronto Eaton Centre, and Sherway Gardens malls. It also manages three mono-brand boutiques for OMEGA, Breitling, and Montblanc, alongside integrated storefronts for brands such as TAG Heuer, GUCCI, and Diamonds Direct. In addition to its physical stores, European runs a national e-commerce platform at European.ca, offering a wide range of watches and jewellery across Canada.
To finance the acquisition, Birks Group has obtained a $13.5 million incremental loan from SLR Credit Solutions, one of its existing senior lenders. Part of the loan proceeds funded the acquisition, with the remainder allocated to ordinary course working capital. This incremental loan carries interest at the same rate as the existing $12.5 million term loan with SLR.
Birks Group has also entered into a $3.75 million loan agreement with Mangrove Holding, one of the controlling shareholders of Birks Group. The loan carries an annual interest rate of 15% and is repayable in full by December 24, 2026. These funds will also support ordinary course working capital.
Birks Group remains focused on pursuing strategic goals, including exploring further transactions to raise additional capital through public or private equity, debt financing, or the completion of strategic acquisitions.
— Jean-Christophe Bédos, President and CEO of Birks Group
