Boom in online jewellery sales
Boom in online jewellery sales

The online jewellery retailer BlueStone had recently raised Rs 60 crore, and it plans to use the funds raised for expanding its distribution network across the country. In a conversation with Harsh Suman, Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, CEO and Founder, BlueStone, highlighted their strategy to differentiate themselves from peers in this rather competitive segment.

You have recently raised Rs 60 crore from Kalaari Capital. How do you plan to utilize the funds?

We plan to use the funds raised for expanding our marketing and distribution network across the country. In addition, we are attempting to change the way consumers purchase jewellery, and our online retail operations would be focused on that objective.

Kindly throw more light on your operations over the years?

I started this online jewellery retail operation in ‘11 after a successful exit from chakpak.com, and that’s because I viewed this niche segment with a high growth potential.

As part of that strategy, we are also attempting to redefine the business model in the jewellery segment by placing our catalogue online, and once we receive an order, we implement it within a week. This is in contrast to jewellery stores which have several crore of inventory and much higher operating costs.    

Customised jewellery is gaining in popularity. Are you leveraging this opportunity, too?

We offer customisaton only for large wedding-related orders, but I would like to highlight our catalogue is wide, and includes more than 2,000 designs. In addition, we also launch new products each week.

Apart from that, we also offer standard customisation for the quality and clarity of diamonds, and customers can choose between white or yellow gold as well as well as 14-carat or 18-carat.

Consumers often touch and feel jewellery products before making a purchase. How do you deal with this problem?

I would like to point out that both younger and older consumers are showing an increased preference for selecting and purchasing jewellery products online. And, to help our customers make a purchase decision, we offer the ‘try home facility’, which involves our sales staff visiting customer’s home and displaying our array of products. Apart from that, we also have ‘guide’ stores in Bombay, Bangalore and Pune, which complement our online retail operations, as well as our BIS hallmarked diamonds help to ensure suitable standards for our diamond repertoire.

In addition, our recently introduced promotional offers like ‘gold mine’ savings plan have proved to be popular, which involve customers paying several monthly installments for purchase of a product, and we pay a remaining few.

What are your expansion plans?

We have expanded our presence across the country, and as part of that strategy, recently launched ‘guide stores’ as well as ‘try home facility’ in Chandigarh and Chennai.

We also derive more than 5 per cent of our sales from customers overseas, and plan to expand this segment further, going forward.

Stay on top – Get the daily news from Indian Retailer in your inbox
Also Worth Reading