Online jewellery brand Melorra said on Wednesday that it has raised $12 million in a Series C round led by existing investor, venture capital firm Lightbox Ventures.
It also raised $2 million in debt from BlackSoil Capital, which provides debt to startups and other firms. Other investors include the Dabur-owned Burman family office and the Jeejeebhoy family office
Melorra currently sells necklaces, bracelets, rings and other jewellery items on its website, from where it claims it has delivered to 1300 towns across the country. It is catering to the affordable and dailywear segment of jewellery, with an average transaction value of ₹20,000, founder and CEO Saroja Yeramilli, told Mint in a phone interview.
“We see design as our core differentiator. The designs you find on Melorra, you can’t find them anywhere else. Further, in a low margin sector, we are able to maintain high margins because of a differentiated product,” she added.
While it had a gross revenue of about ₹55 crore last fiscal, it expects to report a revenue of ₹150 crore by March next year (FY20), and RS 400 crore the year after that.
The jewellery startup segment, both online and offline has seen rising investor interest, driven by younger users who want more affordable, better designed and innovative products with rapidly changing trends.
Caratlane, which counted firms such as Tiger Global Management as investors, was acquired by Tata Group-owned Titan in 2016. Titan invested a further ₹100 crore in the venture in April this year to hike its stake.
Similarly, jewellery retailer BlueStone, backed by firms such as Accel Partners, Saama Capital and IvyCap Ventures, is currently looking to raise $25 million to expand its offline presence, Mint reported on February 12
Despite South Indian states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu being famous for traditional jewellery and the largest buyers of gold, Melorra sees more user traction from the North and West, which adapt to changes and trends faster. However, Kerala is a fast-growing area for Melorra as well, CEO Yeramalli added
[“source=livemint”]