The Hindu Business Line : OyzterBay in pact with 4 diamond houses

IT is touted as the world's largest diamond alliance. Four of India's top diamond production houses with turnover in excess of $2 billion (around Rs 8,846 crore) have entered into an alliance with OyzterBay, a three-year-old branded jewellery retailing venture, to push their brands in domestic market where the diamond jewellery sales have been growing at 15 per cent annually.

Brands such as Ace from K.P. Sanghvi Group, Adora from M. Suresh & Co, D'damas from a joint venture between Dubai-based Damas and Digico Group and Sparkles from Poddar & Co are part of this alliance.

OyzterBay's 29 exclusive stores in 12 States across the country will retail these brands alongside diamond offerings under its eponymous brand.

In 2001, a group of six top professionals quit Tanishq, which is the domestic watchmaker Titan's jewellery division, to kick-start OyzterBay, a venture capital funded start-up.

The country's diamond jewellery sales are estimated at roughly Rs 8,000 crore in an overall jewellery market pegged at about Rs 50,000 crore. It has reported robust double-digit growth for the last seven consecutive years, thanks, among other things, to the promotional efforts made by De Beers. The latest figures suggest a 15 per cent jump.

In fact, three among the four diamond houses that has teamed up with OyzterBay - K.P. Sanghvi, M. Suresh & Co and D'damas - are large DeBeers site holders. India polishes over 80 per cent of the world's diamonds and is home to half of the internationally renowned diamond businesses.

Mr Vasant Nangia, CEO of OyzterBay, told Business Line that "the alliance would help to nearly triple the stock offerings in our standalone stores". The alliance will offer jewellery for every occasion at prices starting from Rs 1,500 to Rs 25,000. OyzterBay stores attracted nearly quarter of a million footfalls last year, Mr Nangia added.

OyzterBay has lined up a press and outdoor campaign to accompany the roll out of the alliance and the four brands, which have teamed up, will chip in with budgetary support.

Mr Nangia said OyzterBay would sit with the partners after the alliance stabilised in the initial months to work on the tweaking needing to take the alliance forward.

Mr Nangia said he expected diamond jewellery to account for a significant majority of the sales through OyzterBay stores in the future.

Meanwhile, OyzterBay, positioned as `Jewellery for the Living', is targeting to expand the network of exclusive stores to 100 in the next two to three years.

More Stories on : Brands | Retailing | Gems & Jewellery

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OyzterBay in pact with 4 diamond houses