Indriya, the Aditya Birla Group’s jewellery venture launched in 2024 has set a goal to become one of the top three jewellery retailers in India. However, with the current market hit by a barrage of challenges; volatile gold prices, higher gold import duties and calls to curb consumption, how will Indriya meet its goals? Sandeep Kohli, CEO of Novel Jewels, expands on Indriya’s strategies to encourage consumer sentiments, in an exclusive interview with Shilpa Dhamija.
Following the Prime Minister’s appeal to reduce gold consumption, how is Indriya adapting its commercial strategy?
We understand the macroeconomic intent behind the appeal, especially regarding the rupee and the broader economy. For us, the focus isn’t about reacting drastically but following how the consumer reacts.
To address this, we are promoting gold recycling. Indian households hold an immense amount of idle gold. We want to help consumers unlock that value by exchanging pieces they no longer wear. This purpose fits our core ethos: we want people to emotionally connect with and actually wear their jewellery.
Our strategy relies on providing unique, design-led options that justify making that switch. We work with various regional Indian craft techniques; some almost forgotten and give them a relevant touch so the final piece feels personal. By offering various exchange schemes, we are giving consumers a way to refresh their collection using gold they already own, which fits right into the current economic sentiment.
Between soaring gold prices, macro headwinds, and the PM’s appeal to buy less gold, the business landscape seems challenging. How are these factors impacting Indriya’s long-term growth plans?
If you look at the bigger picture, the Indian jewellery market is huge and contributes 7% to 8% of the country’s GDP. It is an essential category with deep cultural roots, so it isn’t going anywhere.
Aditya Birla Group entered this business with the ambition to be among the top three jewellers in India. While there are short-term market tensions that everyone must adapt to, our goals remain unchanged. We have had a very strong start, scaling from zero to 70+ stores in less than 24 months. This is the fastest expansion of any brand in India. Our growth is driven by positive consumer response to our core pillars: design, trust, and our in-store experience. We will remain agile and keep our ears to the ground to respond to consumer pain points, but our north star remains exactly the same.
Currently, there are no changes to our plans. Our competitors operate hundreds of stores, so we still have a very long runway ahead of us. Being a relatively young organisation gives us the agility to adjust our planning regionally, depending on how local markets behave.
We currently stand at around 77 outlets and aim to add close to 40 to 50 more stores this year. However, for us, a store count is never the actual target. What matters is opening the right outlet, in the right location, with a curated product line tailored to the local catchment and managed by well-trained staff. Whether we open 30 or 75 stores this financial year is secondary to ensuring there is no compromise on that operational quality.
How do you see high gold import duties impacting the market and your business?
This is not the first time we have seen this happen. Even with the recent Customs duty hike, gold prices are actually lower than the peaks they reached a few months ago, and people were still buying back then.
Typically, consumers only hold back when there is uncertainty. This Government policy actually brings much-needed predictability to the market by removing the constant speculation around whether duties will change. There might be a brief period where people adjust to the new rates, but they ultimately come out to buy.
Traditional Indian jewellery retail relies heavily on trust and relationships. As a new brand, how are you building trust and how do you stand out?
Because jewellery is a high-value purchase, customer service and store experience are critical to building trust.
We build trust through absolute transparency – by using tables to show the exact pricing and story behind a piece. We have introduced glass-walled karigar rooms, so the gold melting process is clearly visible. We also offer private lounges for brides to try on pieces with their outfits. Our consultants go through a three-week styling and craft education program.
However, this service framework exists to support the carefully designed jewellery, which is the heart of our model. While the standard industry model relies heavily on outside manufacturers, where a retailer’s unique design ownership is only 0% to 10%, at Indriya nearly 60% of jewellery is conceptualised by our own team.
The remaining 40% of pieces such as plain chains and wedding bands are not made in-house. For this segment, we select from designs already produced by external manufacturers. This highlights the importance we place on design selection, which is highly challenging to implement when building a large-scale jewellery business.
We focus on design depth, meaning we thoroughly research regional cultures; like Maharashtrian or Rajasthani traditions and translate that authenticity into modern, wearable pieces with great structural quality.