Bluestone looks for more funds; Indication of growth in online jewellery industry?

In a boost to the online jewellery industry, leading online jewellers BlueStone is reportedly looking at raising funds for the fourth time. The company is believed to be in talks with leading investors including venture capitalist Iron Pillar, and IvyCap, Kalaari and Accel Partners. The jewellery store is looking at a tentative inflow of Rs. 200 crores.

If things go as planned, this will be Iron Pillar’s second investment in India (the first investment being in Snapdeal).

Good times ahead for BlueStone

The leading online jeweller has had a good run in the past few years.

A person familiar with the company’s developments said on condition of anonymity,

“Bluestone has been growing really well. It had a brief period of rough patch last year, mainly because of funding, but came out of it really well.”

Founder and CEO Gaurav Singh Kushwara says,

“We expect to grow our business at least 300% annually for the next couple of years.”

Online jewellery market in India

The online jewellery industry in India is slowly picking up in popularity, with customers bravely choosing to buy gold and precious jewellery online. Experts feel that it will take time for standalone jewellers online to take a bite from the pie that leading companies like Flipkart and Amazon have monopolised.

A Ficci AT-Kearney study shows that the Indian jewellery market will stand at Rs 5,30,000 crores by 2018. And how has the online sphere helped in this? Kapil Hetamsaria founder and CEO of Velvetcase, says,

“The advent of new-age technology (3D printing and virtual reality) and the improvement of backend logistics have changed the game and finally made it much easier for customers to visualise their purchases.”

At this rate, online jewellery sellers should take advantage of the fair weather. With the Indian jewellery sales set to go up over the next couple of years, online stores are certain to make a cut in it, given the support offered from investors.