Online retailer Jewel Hub to set up stores

Jewel Hub - an online retailer for diamond jewellery - plans to open 100 touch and feel pop-up stores over the next two years - two of them will come up in Mumbai by March - largely on franchisee basis.

“We plan to open up 100 touch and feel pop-up stores, largely on franchisee basis, over the next two years to allow customers get a hands on experience of the products before buying them online. To begin with, Jewel Hub plans to open two stores in Mumbai and one each in Delhi and Chandigarh in the next two months,” a company statement said here.

“We may call it reverse retail revolution. Unlike several brick and mortar retail outlets foraying into e-commerce, Jewel Hub, after tasting online success, has decided to operate such outlets based on customer feedback,” Jewel Hub Managing Director Bhavin Mehta said.

Jewel Hub, that has set a revenue target of Rs 60-70 crore over the next 18-24 months, will also own and operate a few stores at select locations and would fund them through angel funds raised earlier, he said.

“The proposed pop-up stores will be set up in high footfall areas like shopping malls. Average estimated set-up cost would be approximately Rs 4-5 lakh per outlet and operating cost would be around Rs 12-15 lakh per annum,” Jewel Hub Director Gurmeet Singh said.

These outlets will demystify the diamonds for the customers and provide them with the much-needed touch and feel aspect currently missing in the high value jewellery e-tailing, Singh said.

The domestic gems & jewellery industry has a market size of Rs 2,51,000 crore (USD 40.45 billion), according to the last available study done by a leading industry body.

Current online business is less than 1% of the total jewellery business in India but the segment has a huge potential for growth in the coming years, the study said.