The Aditya Birla Group Has A New Sparkle In Their Portfolio: Indriya

Indriya is a Sanskrit word that means senses. This new-age jewellery brand from the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) was born with the intent to delight all the senses of people who indulge in their jewellery. While most branded jewellery retailers with scale have been around since the 1980s and ‘90s if not before, Indriya is a 2024 baby with the moonshot ambition of making it to the top three jewellery retailers in the country, Sandeep Kohli, Chief Executive Officer at Novel Jewels, tells us. 

Kohli moved to Indriya after a twenty-odd-year-long stint with Hindustan Unilever’s Beauty and Personal Care category. He tells us that the category switch felt like “all the bulbs in my life have got changed in one go.” In his last six months with Indriya, he believes he has taken the journey of management trainee and a CEO at the same time, learning a lot from his team which “has a collective 500 years of experience in the jewellery business.”

Indriya is enjoying the perks of being a new entrant in the category. With a start-up mindset backed by INR 5,000 crore announced by Kumar Mangalam Birla and the consumer trust of the Aditya Birla Group, the brand sure has a lot of potential. 

Jewellery makes up a significant 6% to 7% of India's GDP. And if India wants to reach its ambitious plans of becoming a USD 10 trillion economy, every industry will have to pull its weight and contribute accordingly. As an operator in most major categories including Finance, Cement, Chemicals and Fashion, Kohli tells us that moving into jewellery was just a natural extension of the group’s vision. Its ambitious expansion plans are attributed to the fact that ABG prides itself on being among the top players in each of the categories in which it operates. 

Indriya has done its consumer research to figure out the unmet needs of consumers and what it is that they're looking for when choosing to buy jewellery. They’re leveraging their lack of history as a way to create experiences that are relevant for today’s customers. They came up with a framework to celebrate an Indian woman’s love for jewellery and the emotional bond it holds. “Every jewellery piece bought and every occasion that it is worn has a story behind it. That is what we want to celebrate.” 

The jewellery industry in India, employing over 5 million artisans, craftsmen and highly skilled workers, produces some of the world’s most beautiful jewellery that travels across the world. A major part of the country’s jewellery business is unbranded and independent. This segment accounts for about 65% of all jewellery sold. On the flipside, it is the branded and organised sector that is seeing higher growth at about twice the amount of the independent. This particular insight is where ABG saw an opportunity to join in on the play. 

Kohli attributes the shifting gear of branded jewellery to two things—one, consumers in India are moving towards branded products that offer choice, better customer experience and flexibility. And second, a massive factor in buying jewellery is trust. Being a part of ABG is already leverage in garnering trust. But Kohli adds the other side of it is living up to it. “We want to uphold that trust through the best and most transparent propositions.”

Next, they pride themselves on design. The design of their jewellery, the store and the variety they provide. “Our assortment of designs is amongst, if not the largest of any store that we open in a neighbourhood.” Stores are designed in a way that is customer-focused rather than competition-focused. 

Each of their jewellery consultants has been trained through a three to four-week program where they are taught a little bit about the art of selling, but mostly about the art of jewellery and styling. Within each store, they also place a stylist who helps customers select pieces for special occasions and weddings based on what they are wearing for the occasion and the theme. They also have a wedding lounge within all large stores where people can privately change into their wedding outfits and try on the jewellery.

When asked how Indriya plans on achieving its ambitious expansion plans, Kohli says, “The era of five-year and 10-year plans are over.” Today, within any company, business development has to be agile. He views it as having moonshot ambition and then scaling with agility. While they do have certain milestones in place, Kohli tells us that core business decisions will be made based on what they learn along the way. “We have mapped out where we want to be and we are building plans on how we can scale up as soon as possible.” 

It is no surprise that most shopping within the jewellery business happens offline because it is a high-priced ticket purchase and it's also a beauty product, so people want to try it on and experience it before they make the purchase. As a brand, they have done research to ensure their presence in the right locations and eventually, open themselves up to e-commerce. 

“The fun of working in the jewellery category is that everybody loves jewellery—even if it is for different reasons and motivations.” For some, it is design, beauty, status or even as an investment. But keeping in line with their commitment to providing for women and their love for jewellery, they’ve garnered the sentiment ‘Dil abhi bhara nahi’. There’s always more that women want from jewellery–more time with it or just more variety. Their campaigns are built around the same and so is the team. “We want to constantly be in that state of dil abhi bhara nahi to keep learning and keep improving.”