CaratLane opens three new stores in Bengaluru

Omnichannel jeweller CaratLane expects to break even by the end of this fiscal with a revenue of ₹600 crore, and add 22 more stores, a top executive told BusinessLine.

Gearing up for the peak festival season sale period that has just begun and runs up to Dhanteras on October 25, CaratLane has opened three new stores here — at Indiranagar, Whitefield and Orion Mall. This takes its total store count across India to 73. Titan Company owns a 69.47 per cent stake in CaratLane.

The style, colours and ambience of CaratLane outlets are atypical of Indian jewellery stores. Its 2,300 sq ft store in Indiranagar, with pink and white themed minimalist interiors and striking elements of visual merchandising, houses a solitaire lounge with a team of experts to help customers find the perfect stone.

‘Everyday’ brand

“CaratLane is an everyday jewellery brand which offers exquisite, innovative jewellery that is so light and pocket-friendly that it can be worn everyday, whether for work or for play,” Rajan Amba, the company’s COO, told BusinessLine. “We expect to do brisk business culminating with blockbuster sales on Dhanteras.” The company is offering a flat 25 per cent discount on diamond jewellery of all designs among other offers.

Have sales been hit by weak consumer demand as a result of rising gold prices? “Yes, there is a slowdown but we are less affected by it as we are mostly into diamond jewellery and offer 18- and 22-carat jewellery at prices ranging from ₹3,500 to ₹1.5 lakh-plus,” said Amba. “Our target group is 25 years and above, and the maximum purchases at CaratLane fall in the ₹10,000- 50,000 price bracket.”

Online growth

While the bulk of CaratLane’s sales comes from its retail stores, two-thirds of which are franchisee-owned, its online growth is in excess of 40 per cent. “Revenue is growing at over 70 per cent, and we will break even this fiscal with a total of 95 stores and ₹600 crore in revenue,” said Amba.

Founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, CaratLane raised a strategic investment from Titan Company Ltd in 2016. It is now a partner with Titan’s Tanishq, India’s largest retail jeweller.

“We have made it very simple for people to explore our exquisite designs, by removing the friction from purchase. Most consumers come over to our store with a shortlist after browsing through our designs online. We have made purchase easier with our ‘try at home’ facility which contributes to a very high hit rate,” said Amba. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________