Caratlane’s Advertising and Marketing Spend up 25% in FY19

Riding high on fresh capital infusion by Tata group firm Titan, which has increased its stake in jewellery subsidiary CaratLane to 69.47% with an investment of Rs 99.99 crore, the online jewellery retailer, saw an increase in its advertising and marketing spend by 25% in FY19.

According to financial data accessed by business intelligence platform, Tofler, the company’s marketing spend increased to Rs 52 crore in FY19 from Rs 45 crore in FY18.

While speaking with ETBE, Atul Sinha, SVP- marketing, CaratLane said that the company’s losses are likely to shrink by 50% in FY19 and it will break-even by FY20. “Though we are profitable on operational level, the company expects to break-even by FY20,” Sinha said.

The company posted a 61% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 290 crore in FY18 as compared to Rs 179 crore in FY17. Caratlane’s net losses rose 5.5% to Rs 83 crore in FY18 from Rs 79 crore, in the previous year.

According to Sinha, the company looks to close FY19 with Rs 414 crore in net revenue with a further 40% – 50% rise in the net revenue to about Rs 621 crore in FY20.

CaratLane, which started as an online player, follows a marketing strategy focusing on various digital platforms. As per Sinha, 50% of the marketing spend is diverted to digital, and the remaining 50% is split between TV and print.

The company uses various digital platforms to build brand awareness. These platforms are used to promote jewellery, designs, and launches throughout-the-year. Meanwhile, brand’s TV campaigns are rolled out once or twice a year and the rest of the marketing is in the form of hoardings and banners.

“Nearly 80% – 90% of our customers prefer to visit caratlane.com to browse for design, which once selected they visit the store for touch-and-feel experience, before buying the jewellery. However, online continues to be core for the selection of our jewellery,” he explained.

The e-retailer claims to have an average ticket price (ATP) of Rs 15,000 – Rs 25,000. At present 40% of its orders fall under repeat purchase. According to Sinha, the company’s delivery charges varies from Rs 200 – Rs 700, depending on the distance and the cost of the purchase.

CaratLane currently has 50 brick-and-mortar stores across India and, since it’s profitable on operational level, is expanding quickly. “We plan to open a store almost every 10 days,” he added.

Courtesy: Brand Equity Exclusive