Stella Valle Jewelry Update | Season 4
Paige Dellavalle and Ashley Jung have a jewelry line, and they’re hoping to win over some sharks to invest. Will they get a deal on
Shark Tank Stella Valle Update
- Entrepreneurs: Paige Dellavalle and Ashley Jung
- Business: Jewelry
- Ask: $150,000 for 25% equity
- Result: $150,000 for 35% equity
- Sharks: Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban
Paige and Ashley came on the tank, introducing themselves as sisters, founders of Stella Valle jewelry, and military combat veterans. After serving in the military, the two decided to create a business together. They developed a unique jewelry line, that featured both masculine and feminine characteristics.
Lori Greiner thanked them for their service first and foremost, but Kevin O’Leary wanted to hear about sales not long after that. Paige said they had sold $75,000 to date. They had sold $37,000 the previous year, and projected to finish the year with $80,000 gross sales.
The sisters had mentioned their products being in Bloomingdale’s and Henri Bendel. Lori wanted to know if Stella Valle was a permanent product in these stores. Paige clarified that they were not, but they would host frequent trunk shows to sell products.
Robert Herjavec asked if Bloomingdale’s picked them up to be featured permanently yet. Paige said their national buyer was allegedly impressed by their products and sales, while Ashley said they were slated to do three more trunk shows in the immediate future.
Robert still was having trouble understanding, and asked why Bloomingdale’s wanted more trunk shows instead of just picking it up. Lori chimed in to say retail chains often test buyer interest on a smaller scale before rolling it out. Robert interpreted this to mean that Bloomingdale’s wasn’t sure about Stella Valle, and this gave him reservations about investing.
Daymond John asked about prices, learning that the pieces sold between $30 and $375. Mark Cuban asked how much the pieces cost to make, learning they ranged from $3 to $45. With this in mind, Mark wanted to know the retail value of an item that cost only $3 to make. Paige said it sold for $96. Robert couldn’t believe his ears, so he asked them to repeat that last part. The margins were staggering! Paige just smiled at his astonishment.
Mark asked the sisters what their plan for Stella Valle’s future was. Ashley said that they wanted to take the idea of the trunk show and roll it out nationwide.
Robert asked why they would want to hustle for every sale doing the trunk show thing, instead of just letting it sell from the store, as he found this method to be easier. Paige said they eventually would back off and let it sell organically.
Lori said she could absolutely see Stella Valle products selling well, but Kevin wasn’t sold. He said Stella Valle was little more than “expensive costume jewelry.” While he liked their backstory, he was not pleased with the valuation of $600,000, as he felt they were most definitely worth less than that.
Ashley disagreed, saying that their past sales and relative interest from market buyers meant they were worth the $600,000 valuation. Kevin refuted it, saying they had made nothing in sales. Ashley reminded him of the $75,000, but Mr. Wonderful must’ve considered this a paltry number to dismiss it so readily.
Mark encouraged the sisters to ignore Kevin and simply say “next,” but Kevin was relentless. He asked if they had made any actual money from those sales yet. Paige then laid out a hypothetical where she sold $500 per day for sixty days, saying they’d have $300,000 from that alone. However, the sharks rarely find value in hypotheticals. Kevin simply stated the valuation was crazy and, for that reason, he was out.
Mark jumped in to echo Robert’s former sentiments– why bother with trunk shows instead of getting a big retail order and selling from the store? That was the better route in his opinion too. Paige said she preferred their method, as they wanted to build a name and a brand before plopping it into a display case and walking away.
Ashley chimed in as well, telling the sharks that they earned their trunk show with Henri Bendel after showing up to an open call with more than five-hundred other companies and designers present. It was their designs and their salesmanship that earned them that spot, and Ashley felt their personal touch on driving sales would be the recipe for success.
Daymond began a spiel, leading with the fact that he loved their story. Ashley continued pushing, telling Daymond that they didn’t have business degrees and needed money to get where they needed to go. Daymond said he’d have to close his eyes or the girls might convince him into investing after all.
Paige guilt-tripped Daymond, telling him that her poor sister spent fifteen months in Afghanistan getting shot at so he could stay home in America and make money. She fought for his freedom! “You cannot back out on us!” Paige said.
It looked like it was winning Daymond over, but he finally said that, in all honesty, he didn’t really like the jewelry. For that reason, he was out.
Lori reiterated that she loved the jewelry and the story behind Stella Valle. She asked if they considered donating a portion of proceeds to veterans, and Paige shared that they do, in fact, donate to the Wounded Warrior Project to support combat veterans.
Lori turned to Mark, looking for him to come into a deal, but she did not clarify the terms. Kevin, still stuck on that valuation, told Lori they simply could not pay $600,000 for this deal. Mark asked if Lori was interested because he saw it as a good QVC product, adding that he actually liked it and would prefer it did not go on QVC.
Lori asked Mark if he thought 30% was enough equity, but Mark felt they’d need to put up more cash and, therefore, needed to take more equity to make it worthwhile. He pitched $200,000 for 40% equity, but Lori felt dropping back down to $150,000 while taking only 35% equity would be more fair. Mark reiterated the deal terms to Lori, and she confirmed she was happy with it.
With the offer finalized, they officially offered it to Paige and Ashley. Kevin told them they’d be insane not to take it. After a brief hesitation, Paige said she was done talking and ready to take the deal. With that, the pitch concluded. What happened next? Keep reading our Stella Valle update to find out!
We have great news to share in our Stella Valle update! Despite Mark’s disdain for the network, Lori brought Stella Valle on QVC anyway where it sold well. In addition, they were able to negotiate a deal to have Stella Valle sold in Target, Jared Jewelers, and from their own Amazon store. The sisters eventually expanded operations, opening a retail location in New Hope, Pennsylvania, followed by a second location in Flemington, New Jersey. As of 2023, Stella Valle remains in business.
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Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!