Aditya Birla Group bets on branded jewellery with over $600 mln investment (updated)

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail

06/06/2023 08:43

(Adds details throughout on the foray)
       BENGALURU, June 6 (Reuters) - India's Aditya Birla Group
said on Tuesday it was foraying into the branded jewellery
retail business with an investment of 50 billion rupees ($605.2
million), as it looked to attract affluent customers in a
crowded market.
        A new venture, named Novel Jewels Ltd, will house the
jewellery business that will build large retail stores across
India with in-house brands, the group said in a statement. 
  
        The telecom-to-metals conglomerate's entry comes at a
time when the market is dominated by thousands of small and
large local independent jewellery stores, as well as branded
outlets like Titan Company-owned  TITN.NS  Tanishq and
CaratLane, and Kalyan Jewellers  KALN.NS .
  
        "With rising disposable income, discerning and
aspirational consumers are leaning more towards design-led,
bespoke and high-quality jewellery," said group chairman Kumar
Mangalam Birla. 
  
        India's gems and jewellery market accounts for about 7%
of the GDP, with the market projected to grow to $90 billion by
2025, according to the Aditya Birla Group. 
  
        The jewellery market has also attracted foreign
investors. Reuters 
    reported
     last month that Singapore's Temasek Holdings  TEM.UL  was
considering investing $100 million in Indian jeweller BlueStone
for a stake of about 20%. 
  
            
    
 ($1 = 82.6220 Indian Rupees)    

 (Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza and Sohini Goswami)
 ((Biplobkumar.das@thomsonreuters.com; 9101861583;))