Aditya Birla’s Indriya eyes 100 stores amid wedding jewellery demand

Bengaluru: Indriya, the jewellery brand of the Aditya Birla Group, is looking to reach 100 stores in the coming months, driven by sustained demand for wedding jewellery and a market that increasingly values innovation and experiential purchases.

The brand recently opened its 50th store in Koramangala, Bengaluru, adding to its outlets at Phoenix Mall of Asia and Malleswaram. The city will see at least three more stores as part of the expansion — at Sarjapur, Dickinson Road, and Rajarajeshwarinagar.

“Most of our stores are high-street, though mall stores are also catching up. Each store ranges from 6,000-8,000 sq ft on average. We are currently present in all key metros except Chennai, and in several tier-2 cities including Patna, Kolhapur, and Aurangabad,” said Dilip Gaur, Director, Indriya — Aditya Birla Jewellery.

As part of the expansion, the Mumbai-headquartered brand will also strengthen its presence in Hyderabad, Guntur, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Hubballi, with particular focus on Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

Indriya was launched in July 2024. A year earlier, the Aditya Birla Group had announced an investment of
Rs 5,000 crore to enter the branded jewellery retail business. The venture is housed under Novel Jewels Ltd, which retails under the Indriya brand.

Gaur said the company undertook extensive consumer research before launch. “We spoke to about 10,000 customers across target segments and identified the 25-55 age group as our core audience,” he said.

The brand currently offers around 28,000 designs across gold jewellery (70-75 per cent), studded diamonds (about 25 per cent) and polki (3-5 per cent). According to Gaur, the Indian jewellery market is broadly divided into daily wear and wedding segments, with weddings accounting for at least half of demand.

“National chains largely operate in the daily wear segment, while the wedding market is dominated by family jewellers. Our strategy was to focus on weddings and build a distinctive position,” he said.

Indriya entered the market just before significant volatility in gold prices. Import duty cuts initially lowered prices, triggering a surge in buying, followed by a sharp rise. “In the past 19 months, gold prices have risen about 2.3 times, something unprecedented,” Gaur noted.

Despite the turbulence, the company has seen strong growth, with an average ticket size of over Rs 2 lakh, outshining the industry average of Rs 1.5-1.8 lakh. Wedding demand contributes about half of its sales.

Gaur said Indriya’s strategy rests on three pillars — a design-led approach, immersive store experiences, and strong technology integration to help customers understand design, craftsmanship, and materials.

Meanwhile, the brand operates on a FOCO (franchise-owned, company-operated) model. “About 27 of our stores are franchise-owned, and most future stores will follow this model,” he said.

India’s jewellery market is valued at around Rs 8 lakh crore, with roughly 65 per cent still unorganised. However, Gaur expects rising incomes, urbanisation and greater awareness to shift more demand to organised players, with about 5 per cent of the market likely to move from unorganised to organised this year.