Trent Ltd.-operated apparel retailer Westside is eyeing expansion in the fast-growing lab-grown diamonds business to tap into fashion trends.
"We have 20 lab diamond stores within the Westside portfolio," Shailina Parti, chief operating officer of Westside, told NDTV Profit. The company launched its products online this week, ahead of Diwali.
Trent operated 261 Westside stores as of September. It opened 13 stores in the second quarter.
"We look at it as a fashion proposition. People are moving into lab diamonds, so why not play that? It's not about being in the fine jewellery business, but in the fashion business," she said.
Lab-grown diamonds are optically, chemically, and physically identical to natural diamonds, which formed billions of years ago, deep within the earth. Once cut and polished, they are indistinguishable from their naturally occurring counterparts without examination by trained experts using sophisticated instruments.
The cheaper alternative to natural diamonds has raised demand among price-sensitive Indian consumers.
India's lab-grown diamond exports tripled in value between 2019 and 2022, while export volumes rose 25% between April and October 2023, up from 15% year-on-year, according to industry data.
Shailina Parti indicated a strong positive outlook for the brand, largely driven by the younger generation, which is the primary source of growing consumer demand. This is evidenced by the early pickup in Diwali demand.
She also said the recent GST rationalisation has not brought in a drastic change in consumer behaviour.
A key strategic advantage for Westside is its robust operational framework, highlighted by a strong supply chain and the ability to implement new ideas and bring products to market within weeks, Parti said.
The company is also using artificial intelligence to speed up processes.
"We implement our ideas and bring them to the markets within weeks. We have set up AI interventions to speed up our processes. Online sales contribution is expected to increase to 20% in the next 2-3 years from 7-10% currently. We are investing in growing our online presence," she said.
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