New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Augmont, a gold trading platform, has entered the lab-grown diamond market by launching a store under the brand 'Akoirah', and aims to have 100 retail stores in the next three years, Director Ketan Kothari said on Thursday.
The company is initially investing Rs 100 crore, anticipating a good demand in coming years, where aspirational consumers may opt for LGD (lab-grown diamond) instead of mined diamonds due to cost savings, he said.
The company has opened its first Akoirah store in Pune, Maharashtra and has plans to expand in other cities targeting aspirational young consumers across the markets looking for LGD, which are visually, chemically and thermally identical to mined natural diamonds.
"Around 100 stores planned in the next 3 years of Akoirah. The initial investment outlay is Rs 100 crore. Later, there will be a combination of franchisee stores along with company owned stores and funds will be added accordingly," said Kothari at a media round-table here.
Besides physical, the company is also pushing online sales of LGD as per its omnichannel strategy, leveraging its reach over four crore digital gold consumers.
According to Kothari, LGD are transforming the jewellery industry and the global market is projected to reach USD 1.2 billion by 2033. He expects this could be reached earlier if the trend of LGD picks up in large countries, such as India.
"The penetration of mined diamond jewellery in India is less than 5 per cent, whereas 95 per cent consumers want to own diamonds. Mined diamonds have given negative returns and hence they are not an investment for Indian consumers, who are the smartest when it comes to value investments," said Kothari.
Large jewellery chains are in a dilemma to enter this space because of the fact that they have been selling mined diamond jewellery for years, and it will be a hard sell for the consumers.
"Other brands that have entered the space are largely startups which have to build trust and credibility, which takes years. Augmont's foray into jewellery could not be better timed," he added.
As per its strategy to create confidence about LGD, Akoirah is promising to provide 100 per cent exchange and buyback value to customers, he said.