2,500 jewellery shops make a beeline for JewelsNext, an online jewellery marketplace
Buying jewellery online is not something you’d associate an Indian customer with. But perceptions are changing and JewelsNext is the proof of the pudding. JewelsNext has brought together 2,500 jewellery shops and over 5,00,000 jewellery products, making it the largest online platform for jewellery in India. The site has been witnessing around 30-40 transactions daily, having an average ticket value of Rs 20,000 per transaction.
Co-founded by Gaurav Issar and Jatin Mahindra, JewelsNext launched in October 2011 and is self-funded . Issar is a first generation entrepreneur and has been building different businesses since last 14 years. He has experience as a gemologist, retailer and manufacturer in the gems and jewellery industry. While Mahindra has over 13 years experience as a serial entrepreneur, marketer, strategist and technocrat in the Indian Internet scene. The duo have managed to scale up the business and after initial niggles, have also streamlined their processes.
The opportunity according to JewelsNext is the wide variety of jewellery inIndia. “Jaipur has gemstones,Hyderabadpearls,Delhiand Mumbai have diamonds,Chennai,Cochinand Bengaluru are known for plain gold jewellery andJammufor blue sapphires,” says Issar. JewelsNext want to enable every Indian to buy any of these products sitting in the comfort of their homes. JewelsNext currently services 2,000 pin codes acrossIndia.
From providing logistics to business development support, JewelsNext is helping more and more jewellery shops get onto the online space. “Jewellery inIndiais a $16 billion unorganized sector and most jewellers have a conventional approach to the industry. E-commerce in jewellery was not welcomed. It took us time to make the jewellery fraternity understand that a marketplace model is the need of the hour.” explains Issar about the sector and their initial days. Today the company has grown and are looking at a turnover of Rs 100 crores within the next 12-18 months.
