Aditya Birla Group invests Rs 5,000 crore in the brand-name jewellery industry.

Aditya Birla Group announced on Tuesday that it has entered the branded jewellery retail business with an investment of about Rs 5,000 crore.

The business will be housed in a new venture, Novel Jewels Ltd, which will build large-format exclusive jewellery retail stores across India, with in-house jewellery brands, the diversified group said in a media statement. ET was the first to report the group’s plans to enter the branded jewellery retail business, in its November 1, 2022 edition.

This is the third time in the past two years that the group has entered a new business, after paints and business-to-business e-commerce for building materials. “The new venture will seek to transform the customer experience by creating an aspirational national brand with unique designs and a strong regional flavour,” the statement said.

Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said in the statement, “This foray is a strategic portfolio choice that allows us to tap into new growth engines and expand our presence in the vibrant Indian consumer landscape. With rising disposable income, discerning and aspirational consumers are leaning more towards designled, bespoke and high-quality jewellery.”

The branded jewellery retail venture will be operated by a newly recruited leadership team with deep retail and category expertise.

India’s gems and jewellery market contributes about 7% to the GDP. The jewellery market is projected to grow to $90 billion by 2025 from $76 billion in 2023, driven by consumer preferences for assurance of quality and trustworthiness and transparent pricing, with a switch from unorganised jewellers to organised retail.

Novel Jewels will compete with the Tata-owned Titan’s jewellery brand Tanishq, along with other brands in its portfolio including Mia, Zoya and CaratLane.