It could be Tata vs Birla in India’s branded jewelry space.
The Aditya Birla Group has launched a play in the branded jewelry space. Named “Indriya”, the Aditya Birla Group has put in Rs. 5,000 crore into the new venture. The Aditya Birla Group has set a target of Indriya becoming one of India’s top 3 jewelry brands in the next 5 years.
“The Indian consumer is rapidly coming of age and India is perhaps the most promising consumer cohort globally,” said Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. “Entering the jewellery business is compelling due to the ongoing value migration from informal to formal sectors, the rising consumer preference for strong, trusted brands, and the ever-booming wedding market, all of which present substantial growth opportunities,” he added.
Indriya it will simultaneously open four stores in three cities, including Delhi, Indore, and Jaipur. It plans to expand the retail presence to over 10 cities in six months. Indriya’s stores measure over 7000 sq ft each, which is 30-35% larger than the average size of national brands.
It makes sense for the Aditya Birla Group to venture into the branded jewelry space. It already runs a sizeable retail operation and owns brands including Allen Solly, Peter England, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen and others. “The robust competencies that we have honed in retail, design and brand management will serve as pillars for our success,” Birla said.
The organized jewelry sectpr in India is dominated by the Tata Group’s Titan with its flagship brand, Tanishq. It is the largest player in the space, and seen an extraordinary rise in its stock price, which is up 2000x since 2002. It was through Titan’s stock that ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala had made a large portion of his wealth. While there are now several other organized players in the space, like Kalyan Jewllers, Malabar Gold, Senco Gold and others, only around one third of the country’s overall gold jewelry space is organized, which means that there’s considerable headroom — including for a new brand — to grow. Also, the Aditya Birla Group is a household name in India, and it can lend trust, which is one of the most crucial aspects while buying jewelry, to the Indriya brand.
And it’s only only the jewelry space that the Aditya Birla Group is targeting. Earlier this year, it had launched the Opus brand of paints, with similarly aggressive targets, and it caused the stock prices of all incumbents, including Asian Paints, JSW Paints and others to fall. The Aditya Birla Group has deep pockets, decades of experience in India’s consumer landscape, and a brand that’s well-known in India — if it can execute well with Indriya, it can make a pretty big dent in India’s gold jewelry space.