Titan's Zoya is shining bright: Tata's luxury jewellery brand plans to open 7-10 stores in next 5 years, MD reveals

Zoya, the luxury jewellery brand from the House of Tata, is gearing up to expand its footprint across India with the opening of seven to 10 new stores over the next five years. CK Venkataraman, MD at Titan Company Limited, the parent company of Zoya, spoke about the brand's plans for growth, saying: "We are poised for very strong year-on-year growth. We have six standalone stores today and we are looking at 5x growth in consumer base in the next five years. We will look at anywhere between 7-10 stores in the same period."

Despite Zoya's slow growth since its launch in 2009, the sixth standalone store opened just last month at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai. Another is due to open in Hyderabad next month. Nonetheless, Venkataraman is bullish on the Indian luxury market, saying, "The opportunity for Zoya is very strong because by all accounts there is going to be an explosion in the number of elite homes which are in the high-income bracket in the country. These people have discerning tastes, they have travelled extensively and are more appreciative of the kind of stuff we make and the kind of experience we deliver through Zoya."

Zoya has standalone boutiques in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi, as well as seven galleries, or shop-in-shops, in existing Tanishq stores in cities such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, and Chandigarh. While a standalone boutique requires an investment of around Rs 40 crore, a gallery costs Rs 16 crore. Venkataraman believes that the experience of Zoya is better delivered in a standalone store. However, the opportunity to showcase Zoya to the top-end Tanishq buyer is also present, hence the galleries, he points out.

Venkataraman also said that they are considering international expansion. Currently, Zoya has a presence in the Tanishq New Jersey store. "We are looking at a bigger presence in our Houston Tanishq store in the next three months. It will not take the form of a gallery outside India because those stores are smaller. In India, Zoya galleries are a part of our very large Tanishq stores," he explains.

Zoya's unique selling point is the quality of gems and workmanship that goes into every piece. A Zoya piece can take up to nine months to produce. Venkataraman explains, "The quality of materials that go into it, the extent of finishing and craftsmanship, the effort and time put in to finish each piece is much longer and the result is a very fine product. The quality of the finish is the highest standards of global jewellery making."

Although there is demand for Zoya products in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns, Venkataraman says customers prefer to come and purchase from the nearest Zoya store. "There is a lot of demand for Zoya in smaller towns and cities but, as is the case with most luxury shopping, people travel to big cities for their purchases, for the whole experience," he says.

Despite online discovery, the actual purchase of high-end products like Zoya's jewellery happens in-store. "The sheer joy of shopping is missing online. Shopping is an event in our lives, we prepare for it, dress up for it. So why should we give up on that and just click a phone button? For example, buying a Rs 1 lakh phone online which you have already seen with someone else, and are aware of its features etc., you can order it online. But a Rs 1 lakh pendant or earring is not the same. You would like to try it on. So, the offline experience is very important, especially for products of beauty, jewellery, etc.," says Venkatraman.

Venkataraman is also of the opinion that even Titan’s other brand Caratlane, which started as an online brand, is setting up stores at an explosive pace. “It is now an omnichannel player with retail stores at the heart of it. It is no longer a pure online player. Online is fine for small ticket items,” he says.

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