Aditya Birla Group To Invest Rs 5,000 Crore In Foray Into Jewellery Retail

The Aditya Birla Group is looking to set up its jewellery brand 'Novel Jewels' and will invest around Rs 5,000 crore for the same in a bid to compete with heavyweights such as Tata Group's Tanishq and Kalyan Jewellers.

Under Novel Jewels, the retailer plans to build large-format stores across the country with in-house jewellery brands, it said in a statement on Tuesday. This is the group's third major foray into a new business in the last two years, after paints and B2B e-commerce for building materials.

"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," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group.

"With rising disposable income, discerning and aspirational consumers are leaning more towards design-led, bespoke, and high-quality jewellery. This venture will capitalise on Aditya Birla Group's deep expertise in lifestyle retail and nuanced understanding of consumer preference," he said.

The $60-billion conglomerate also runs a large fashion retail business, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd., that sells men's and women's wear, accessories, and footwear.

The company will recruit a new leadership team with retail and category expertise to build the jewellery brand, it said.

India's gems and jewellery market contributes approximately 7% to the GDP. Aditya Birla said the group seeks to capture a bigger share of the jewellery market, which is projected to grow to roughly $90 billion by 2025, with a steady transition from the unorganised to the organised sector.