Online Jewellery Startup CaratLane allocated 30,48,780 shares to Titan Ltd as a part of this investment deal.
Titan made its first investment in the company in 2016 to build and expand its online presence
India’s Leading Jewllery and Accessories maker Titan Company has invested INR 99.9 Cr into Chennai-based online jewellery store CaratLane, according to the MCA filings.
As a part of this financial deal, CaratLane allocated 30,48,780 shares to Titan. Following this, Titan’s stake in the company increased to 69.47% from previous 66.39%.
CaratLane was founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan with an aim to make jewellery accessible, affordable and durable. The company works on a marketplace model and works with vendors who supply gems on request. The company also later opted for omni-channel strategy in order to expand its presence.
In 2016, Titan which is a part of Tata group had acquired 62% stake in CaratLane after acquiring 1.91 crore shares (1,91,42,545 shares), valued at INR 357.24 crore, with an aim to expand its presence online market.
Currently, CaratLane is operating and providing its services through its 50 retail stores on pan India level and by selling jewellery online. According to reports, CaratLane’s total revenue stood at INR 292.50 Cr, for the year ended on March 31, 2018,
Earlier in March, it was estimated that the company is planning to set up over 40 stores by March 2020. In this, the company plans to open 35 stores by the franchise route and five stores owned and operated by the company.
Prior to this round, in 2015, CaratLane had raised $31 Mn in a Series D round of funding from existing investor Tiger Global for developing its technology and building its presence in offline stores.
Some of the other players in this sector are Velvetcase, Bluestone Radiant Bay, and Kuber Box.