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Online imitation jewellery retailer Voylla is in the process of raising the second round of funding from private equity players amid expansion plans.
The Bangalore-based company indents to add precious jewellery to its portfolio, venture into the international market and also start offline stores for its brand.
Tapping the PE “We are looking to raise about $5 million (around ₹300 crore) through the private equity route and are in advanced stages of discussions,” said Vishwas Shringi, CEO and co-founder of Voylla.com.
“The funding will be used to scale up our presence in the international market and also get into the precious jewellery category.”
Voylla raised its first round of funding from Pune-based Snow Leopard Technology at the time of inception.
It sells semi-precious, precious metals and gem stone jewellery as well as accessories for men and women. The domestic gems and jewellery industry can potentially touch ₹5-5.3 lakh crore ($82-87 billion) by 2018.
Precious jewellery Shringi said the company has forayed into the precious jewellery segment with an exclusive tie-up with jewellery manufacturer Derewala.
This Italian technology jewellery will be available through Voylla.com, its affiliates, and some Derewala stores.
Started in 2012, Voylla’s imitation jewellery range is retailed as a fashion product.
“We started by retailing both apparels and jewellery. But as demand for jewellery rose, we started selling just jewellery. Currently, we launch about 500-700 products every week. Our average ticket size stands at about ₹1,000,” Shringi said.
The company has a warehouse in Jaipur.
Global foray Voylla has an inventory-led model and is targeting about ₹18-crore revenue this fiscal.
Speaking on its international foray, Shringi said Indian imitation jewellery has high demand overseas and the company has already started shipping abroad to cater to the growing enquires.
Jewellery as a category has been steadily growing in the ecommerce space as investor and consumer interests grow.
Online jewellery portal Bluestone.com had raised $5 million from venture capital firm Accel Partners, while Caratlane raised $6 million from Tiger Global Management.
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