Kalyan Jewellers to expand Candere’s offline presence, open 30 stores this year

By the end of the year, the company wants offline revenue to account for 20-25% of Candere’s total revenue, says Kalyan Jewellers Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman

Kalyan Jewellers is planning to expand the offline presence of its e-commerce division, Candere, by opening 30 more stores this year, executive director Ramesh Kalyanaraman said on August 9 after the June quarter earnings announcement.

“We already tested two showrooms in Mumbai. This year, we are going to open 30 more. By the end of the year, we want to take the offline revenue of Candere to approximately 20-25% of our total revenue from Candere,” he said.

Kalyan Jewellers, India’s second largest retail jeweller by market cap, reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 143.5 crore for the June quarter of FY24, up 33.2% from the year-ago period. Revenue came in at Rs 4375.7 crore, growing 31.2%.

Candere, however, reported revenue of Rs 34 crore, which was down from Rs 44 crore in the year-ago quarter. Losses too widened to Rs 2.2 crore from Rs 1.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The e-commerce business was in a transition phase, Kalyanaraman said, adding the company had grown at a CAGR of 60% since they acquired it in 2017.

Candere is a separate vertical and not a competition for Kalyan Jewellers, he added.

Speaking about the growth in silver and platinum jewellery, Kalyanaraman said growth was high in the segment compared to what it was three to four years ago, but it would never be a substitute for traditional gold jewellery.

Kalyan Jewellers plans to open 11 showrooms across the country in August, culminating with the opening of its 200th outlet in Jammu. They also have subsequent launches in the upcoming months.

Kalyanaraman said the company had taken the franchise route to expansion and capex was minimal, around Rs 3-3.5 crore. The bulk of the investment was being done by the franchise partner.

The pause in wedding sales, which account for sizeable business, due to Adhik Maas, considered an inauspicious period, will pick up in the next quarter. Overall weekend sales, discretionary demand and momentum would remain strong in the second quarter, Kalyanaraman said.

Courtesy: moneycontrol.com