Aditya Birla Group Enters Jewellery Retail with ‘Indriya,’ Takes on Tata and Reliance

The Aditya Birla Group has entered the jewellery retail market with a new brand called Indriya, launching it on Friday. This move puts Indriya in direct competition with other major brands like Tata Group’s Tanishq, Reliance Group’s Reliance Jewels, Kalyan Jewellers, and Joyalukkas.

Ambitious Goals for Indriya

Kumar Mangalam Birla, the group chairman, shared that Indriya aims to become one of the top three national jewellery players within the next five years. He noted that about 20% of the group’s revenue currently comes from consumer businesses, and he expects this to grow to over 25%, reaching around $25 billion in the next five years.

Growth of Consumer Business

Birla highlighted that the group’s consumer business would be larger than most leading standalone consumer businesses in India. Key drivers for this growth will be the successful expansion of their newest ventures, including paints and jewellery retail. The jewellery brand, Indriya, falls under the new venture Novel Jewels, with an investment of ₹5,000 crore allocated for developing this modern jewellery business.

Strategic Timing and Market Potential

The launch comes just before the festive and wedding seasons, and the Indian jewellery market is valued at ₹6.7 lakh crore. Birla pointed out that social networks and social media are increasingly influencing consumer behavior, especially in smaller cities, making tier-2 India a major driver of spending on branded products.

Significant Growth Opportunities

Birla emphasized that the shift from unbranded to branded jewellery presents significant growth opportunities. The group, with over 20 years of experience in fashion retail and lifestyle, sees this new venture as a natural extension. Indriya will initially open four stores in Delhi, Indore, and Jaipur, and plans to expand to more than 10 cities within six months.

Evolving Jewellery Market

Sandeep Kohli, CEO of Novel Jewels, mentioned that jewellery is evolving from being just an investment to becoming a fashion statement. The group’s entry into the jewellery market coincides with a recent reduction in customs duty on gold, silver, and platinum, announced in the union budget.

Indian Jewellery Market Overview

The Indian gold jewellery retail market was nearly $60 billion in FY24, with 65% of the market being unorganized, consisting of over 500,000 goldsmiths and jewellers. The remaining 35% is organized retail, including both national and regional players.