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Reliance Retail adds jewellery to line of specialty initiatives

May consider branding ornaments at a later stage

— G.R.N. Somashekar.

Models displaying Reliance jewels at the launch of its first jewellery store in Bangalore on Thursday.

Our Bureau

Bangalore, Nov. 15 Reliance Retail has entered the jewellery retail line with a ‘Reliance Jewels’ store in Bangalore. The company plans to open a chain of 300 Reliance Jewels stores in the next three years.

This is in line with Reliance Retail’s initiative to set up specialty stores in the top 100 cities in the country. The other specialty stores are Reliance Footprint (footwear), Reliance Trendz (apparel), Reliance Wellness (wellness products) and Reliance Digital (consumer durables). The company’s other retail formats are Reliance Fresh and Reliance Mart.

Mr Bijou Kurien, President and Chief Executive, Reliance Retail Ltd, said Reliance Jewels is positioned in the “mid market” as an experiential store that offers “value and competitive prices, catering to every budget and type of consumer in a superior shopping ambience.”

Size of market

The jewellery market in India is estimated at Rs 80,000 crore; only 3 per cent of this market (Rs 2,400 crore) is organised retail, with players like Tanishq and Gitanjali. Reliance Retail plans to operate in this organised retail segment.

About Rs 16,000 crore (20 per cent of the jewellery market) comes from large regional and local brands.

There are over 3-lakh jewellery retailers across the country; the market is not driven by a single player, said Mr Kurien. While the jewellery market itself is growing at 12 per cent, organised retail is growing at 60 per cent year-on-year, he added.

Sourcing pattern

The company sources its jewellery from various manufacturers in the country. It may think of branding its jewellery at a later stage, said Mr Kurien. Reliance Retail will set up Reliance Jewels stores in Hyderabad and Ludhiana next.

The Bangalore store spans an area of 6,000 sq ft and stocks gold, diamond and bridal jewellery. The upcoming Reliance Jewels stores will be between 2,000 sq ft and 15,000 sq feet (flagship stores) in area.

The Reliance Retail project envisages a total investment of Rs 25,000 crore over a four-year period ending 2010-11. The company proposes to be present in “every consuming segment and category.”

More Stories on : Retailing | Gems & Jewellery | Reliance Industries Ltd

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