One of the pioneers of online jewelry, CaratLane has had a journey of its own. After Titan invested in CaratLane in 2016, the brand evolved into an omni-channel jewelry retailer, backed by the Tata Group’s legacy of trust and reliability. The brand offers contemporary jewellery at an affordable price as its USP.
In a conversation with Franchise TV, Saumen Bhaumik, Managing Director, CaratLane, outlines the brand’s expansion plans, its focus on innovation, aesthetics, and adornment, and more.
Expansion, Focus Beyond Metros & Channel mix
CaratLane is looking at setting up 50 additional stores this year by March 2026, followed by 40 plus stores in the subsequent year. The brand is a digital first, and one of the pioneers in the jewelry sector, especially the diamond jewelry segment.
“We have EBOs only. We are one among the pioneers of franchising in India - in those days, I think it was only Raymonds and Titan who had branded outlets. More often than not, franchises find us, than we find franchises because we establish a viable business model. We have roughly around 50-odd company stores, rest of them are all partner driven - either it is a management agent or franchising. That's the way it is going to be,” reveals Bhaumik.
Currently, CaratLane operates over 366 stores nationwide and 1 internationally in New Jersey.
“Our focus continues to remain to promote our brand through our online channel.Performance marketing and digital marketing are going to be the vehicles through which we will reach our consumers and wherever it crosses a minimum threshold, if it merits from a retail point of view, we'll look at it,” he outlines.
Innovation, Aesthetics & Adornment
Bhaumik clearly reasons that CaratLane is not a full service jeweler, it is a segment player.
Almost 90 percent of the business happens in diamond jewellery. “In diamond also, we decided to play a sharp positioning, which is basically beautiful jewellery, at a very affordable price and being an online first brand.
From the perspective of innovation, at a time when the gold prices shot up, most jewelry were out of reach for a lot of consumers. That’s when CaratLane launched its various collections which were pocket friendly. “Innovation in product design and in product material mix, sharp price points, are the ways in which we demonstrate our innovation,” tells Bhaumik.
The brand never needed to tune to localization very much. “We are not making community-specific jewellery or wedding jewellery. And we are not playing with plain gold at all. Therefore, our jewellery is seen more from the angle of aesthetics, the priority of adornment, and not for investment or locker purposes,” he reveals.
Omnichannel & Digital Initiatives
CaratLane runs an online channel,as well as an offline channel. It has pioneered distinctive online services like CaratLane Live (an online live shopping experience), Try at Home (no-obligation home trials), and Solitaire Lounges for personalised diamond shopping. For offline, its presence in physical retail is very strong.
New launches
Bhaumik reveals that CaratLane will reveal a lot more exciting new products, starting April. Every month there is something new, but April remains the focus wherein a large share of newness will hit the market as well as online.
Pre-Diwali also remains busy for the brand in which it has huge bursts for its collections.
Retail & Franchise Strategy
For its retail and franchise strategy, CaratLane firstly establishes the catchment. If the catchment is sizable and crosses the minimum threshold, which can cater to a physical investment, then the brand opens a retail store - this is verified through its search data, which mentions how many people probably searched in that catchment or pin code. The physical stores are launched depending on the city, town, catchment. Following that they choose between a company store, partner store, or franchise store.
Upcoming Trends
One obvious trend that Bhaumik cites is that when material price goes up and the gold rate goes up, the budget doesn't change at the pace of gold rate. Hence, obviously, lighter weight and ultralight weight products become a priority depending on the price point that CaratLane needs to cater to.
Along with being light and affordable, it also has to be a part of the customers’ daily life. It is not about heavy jewelry or for investment purposes.
Long term vision & Growth Roadmap
Bhaumik tells, “Our ambition is to become a significant player in the diamond industry. So far, we have traveled a good distance. We have also kept our promises sharp. In short, CaratLane aims to serve a lot more people across the country and beyond in the specific geography that we choose - this is broadly the way forward.”
Copyright © 2009 - 2026 Franchise Tv.