Kendra Scott

Kendra Scott (born March 27, 1974) is an American fashion designer.[4] She is the Executive Chairwoman, lead designer, and former CEO of Kendra Scott, LLC.[5][2] In 2017, she was named Ernst & Young's National Entrepreneur of the Year.[6]

Kendra Scott
Born
Kendra L Baumgartner[1]

(1974-03-27) March 27, 1974
Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S.
OccupationFashion designer
Years active2002-present
Known for Executive Chairwoman, and lead designer of Kendra Scott, LLC[2]
Spouse(s)
  • John Scott
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2000; div. 2006)​
  • Matt Davis
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2014; div. 2020)​
Children3[3]

Early life and career

Kendra Scott was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. At age 16, her family moved to Houston, Texas where she graduated from Klein High School.[7] Scott fell in love and "followed a boy" to Texas A&M University,[7] which she attended for one year[8] before dropping out to move to Austin, Texas at age 19 to help with her ill stepfather.[3]

Scott opened her first business, the Hat Box, which specializes in comfortable hats designed for women going through chemotherapy treatment.[9] Scott sold "comfortable but stylish" pieces and donated a portion of the proceeds to cancer research.

Before starting her own business, Scott started making jewelry from home in Austin, Texas.[10]

Kendra Scott, LLC

Scott founded Kendra Scott LLC in 2002, designing her first collection with $500 in the spare bedroom of her home just after her oldest son was born.[11] She walked store to store around Austin, selling to local boutiques, and at the last boutique she had to sell all of her samples to purchase enough materials to cover the orders she had made that first day.[11]

In 2005, Scott's designs were chosen to accessorize Oscar de la Renta's Spring 2006 Runway Show.[12] Scott's designs also appeared in Randolph Duke's 2007 runway show.[13]

Because of the financial crisis in 2009 she nearly had to close her company.[14]

Scott's first retail store opened in Austin on the Austin's South Congress Avenue in 2010.[14] In the same year, she began her e-commerce business and launched the brand's Color Bar experience.[15][16]

In 2011 she opened her second store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, but she had to close it after a while. In 2014 Scott opened stores around the South and Midwest, while ignoring the fashion elite in New York and Los Angeles. Later, in 2016, she sold a minority stake of her company to the private equity firm Berkshire Partners at a valuation of $1 billion.[14][17]

Valued at over $1 billion, her brand encompasses fashion jewelry, fine jewelry, home accessories, nail lacquer and beauty products.[17][18][19][20][21]

As of the end of 2019, Scott has 102 retail stores. In addition to an e-commerce business, Scott's merchandise is also sold in London's Selfridges,[22] Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus,[17] Von Maur, Bloomingdale's and over 1,000 specialty boutiques worldwide.[10][23] 95 percent of her more than 2,000 staff are women.[24] In February 2021, Scott stepped down as CEO, retaining the Executive Chairwoman title, and named Tom Nolan as Kendra Scott's CEO.[2]

Scott invests in younger companies in Austin, Texas such as Helm Boots and Darbie Angell dinnerware.[14]

Philanthropy

Scott is a philanthropist with a history of supporting women and children's causes.[25][26] In 2015, Scott launched the Kendra Cares Program,[27][25] which brings the company's customizable Color Bar[15] jewelry experience to pediatric hospitals across the country. In 2017, Scott's company hosted more than 10,000 Kendra Gives Back across her stores. She gave the money for local causes and also donated more than 75,000 pieces of jewelry.[17]

In 2019, Scott donated $1 million to The University of Texas to launch the Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute.[28] Since 2010 her company's program has given away $30 million.[24]

Recognition

Scott was awarded the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 National Award and the Breakthrough Award from the Accessories Council Excellence Awards.[6][29] She is listed as #40 in Forbes' list of America's Richest Self-Made Women 2019, been named Outstanding Mother of the Year by the Mother's Day Council, Texas Businesswoman of the Year by the Women's Chamber of Commerce, Top 100 Entrepreneurs of the Year by Upstart Business Journal and 2017 CEO of the Year by the Austin Business Journal.[30][10][31][32][33][34]

She is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.[35]

In 2019 she became the 12th woman in the state who has been inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame.[24][36]

In April 2020, Governor Greg Abbott named Scott to the Strike Force to Open Texas – a group "tasked with finding safe and effective ways to slowly reopen the state" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[37]

Personal life

Kendra Scott, née Baumgartner married John Scott on June 24, 2000. They had two children but divorced on August 22, 2006.[38] Scott remarried on June 6, 2014 to Austinite Matt Davis in Sedona, Arizona.[39][40] They have one child together.[41] They divorced in September 2020.[42][43]

References
  1. "Kendra Scott - Kendra Scott Design" (PDF).
  2. "Kendra Scott Steps Down as CEO, Nolan Promoted". WWD. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. Dunham, Melanie. "Q&A with Kendra Scott". Austin Family. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  4. "'My stomach was flipping': Jewelry mogul Kendra Scott enters ABC's 'Shark Tank' as guest shark". USA Today. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  5. "Kendra Scott steps aside as CEO of her Austin company, remains majority owner". The Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  6. "Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Retail winner". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  7. "Jewelry Designer Kendra Scott opens two new stores".
  8. "Meet Kendra Scott, Homemade Millionaire". www.success.com. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  9. Jones, Michael. "5 Secrets From Powerhouse Jewelry Designer Kendra Scott". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  10. "Kendra Scott". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  11. Entis, Laura (2015-04-13). "From an Extra Bedroom to 20 Stores and Counting: How Kendra Scott Created a Multimillion-Dollar Jewelry Empire". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  12. "Bauble Brilliant With Kendra Scott". Daily Front Row. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  13. "The New York Times > Home & Garden > Image > Fashionable Pairs". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  14. Foster, Tom (2018-12-18). "This Entrepreneur Hit Rock Bottom Before Building a Billion-Dollar Jewelry Empire (With Only $500)". Inc.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  15. "Custom Jewelry | Design Your Own Jewelry". www.kendrascott.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  16. Strugatz, Rachel (2015-03-25). "Kendra Scott Scores With Color Bar". WWD. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  17. Gross, Elana Lyn. "How Kendra Scott Built A Billion-Dollar Jewelry Company". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  18. "This Wildly Popular Texas Jewelry Company Is Now Worth $1 Billion". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  19. "These Jewelry Launches Are Perfect For All Your Holiday Looks". thezoereport.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  20. "Celeb-Favorite Designer Kendra Scott is Making Super-Chic Accessories for Your Home". people.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  21. "Gemstone-Inspired Nail Polish? Why Thank You, Kendra Scott". InStyle.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  22. Marfil, Lorelei (2017-11-17). "Kendra Scott Enters U.K. Market, Opens Selfridges Shop-in-Shop". WWD. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  23. "Broadway Plaza | KENDRA SCOTT". www.broadwayplaza.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  24. "Retail Therapy: Why Kendra Scott won't give up control of her $1 billion brand". Dallas News. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  25. Samaha, Barry. "Jewelry Designer Kendra Scott On Why it's Important for Fashion Brands to be Philanthropic". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  26. "Why fashion designer Kendra Scott is committed to empowering women all year long". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  27. "Introducing the Kendra Cares Program". www.kendrascott.com. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  28. Friel, Katie. "Kendra Scott Wants to Change the Game for Women in Business—Starting With UT Students". The Alcalde. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  29. Sidell, Misty White (2017-08-07). "Accessory Mavens Mull Successful Strategies in Lead-Up to ACE Awards". WWD. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  30. "Amid rapid expansion, Austin jewelry chain founder named Austin Business Journal's CEO of the Year". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  31. "Self-Made Women". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  32. O'Connor, Clare. "Jewelry Mogul Kendra Scott Joins America's Richest Self-Made Women List". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  33. Lockwood, Lisa (2017-05-08). "Top Leaders in Beauty and Retail Honored at 2017 Outstanding Mother Awards". WWD. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  34. "Kendra Scott named one of America's top 100 entrepreneurs". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  35. "KENDRA SCOTT".
  36. "Kendra Scott Talks to NBC 5 About Fashion and Philanthropy". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  37. "These are the experts, leaders working with Gov. Abbott's strike force to reopen Texas". khou.com. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  38. Report of Divorce or Annulment Indexes (Report). Texas Department of State Health Services. 2000. Retrieved 2020-02-06. 104004 SCOTT JOHN M 42 KENDRA L 32 02 06/24/2000 08/22/2006
  39. "Jewelry Designer Kendra Scott's Glam Wedding in Sedona, AZ". Brides.com. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  40. "The untold truth of Kendra Scott". The List. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  41. "A day in the life of Kendra Scott, the CEO of a billion-dollar jewelry empire". KVUE. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  42. Khera, Japleen (23 October 2020). "Is Kendra Scott Married? Who is Kendra Scott's Husband? Does She Have Kids?". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  43. "Kendra Scott On Personal Challenges In 2020, Feeling Stronger & Giving Back – Exclusive". Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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