Aditya Birla Group to tap franchise partners for jewellery brand expansion
New Delhi: The Aditya Birla Group plans to partner with franchisees to scale its newly launched jewellery brand, Indriya, aiming to open 100 stores over the next 18 months, according to a top executive. The move marks an aggressive push into India’s ₹6.7-trillion ($81 billion) branded jewellery market.
The conglomerate announced its venture into the jewellery sector in July last year with an investment of up to ₹5,000 crore ($610 million) to build its business under the Novel Jewels umbrella. Indriya currently operates 12 stores in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.
“Like any other venture from the Birla group, the ambition for this business is to be among the top two to three players within the sector,” Sandeep Kohli, chief executive officer, Indriya, said in a virtual interview with Mint. “We are growing our business in blocks and stages; our next target is to get 100 stores within 18 months.”
Indriya enters a market dominated by established players such as Tata Group’s Titan Co., Kalyan Jewellers, Joyalukkas, and Reliance Jewels. Many of these competitors use franchise partnerships to expand in regional markets, leveraging local expertise.
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“Partnering franchisees is going to be part of our expansion plan. We’ve already created a very innovative franchising model; we are in talks with franchisees to take that model forward, and we will be launching franchisee stores also very soon,” Kohli said.
The entry comes amid a surge in gold prices, which topped ₹80,000 per 10 grams in October. Despite higher gold prices, India’s organized jewellery sector has shown resilience. The industry’s revenue is projected to grow 20% year-on-year in FY25 and 17% in FY26, driven by wedding demand, according to India Ratings and Research.
While higher prices may temper same-store volume growth, revenues from new stores are expected to offset the impact, it said in a note earlier this week.
Kohli said rising gold prices are a longstanding industry challenge. “Gold is becoming more expensive while budgets are not growing to that extent. We ensure that our designs are such where either, by way of spread or by the innovative use of material and design, consumers can buy within their budgets,” he added.
India’s organized jewellery sector has grown from 22% of the market in FY19 to 36-38% in FY24, with a compound annual growth rate of 8%, according to a report by brokerage Motilal Oswal. The market is now valued at ₹6,400 billion ($77 billion).
Indriya is targeting both metro and non-metro cities, including key jewellery hubs, Kohli said. Its current locations include Delhi’s Karol Bagh and South Extension markets, known for their mix of national and local jewellery retailers.
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One year into its launch, Indriya’s average in-store bill sizes have surpassed expectations. “We assumed customers would buy smaller pieces but they are already purchasing for important occasions,” he said.
