The company has two stores in Mumbai, and has signed up for three more, two in the south and one in the north, taking the total to five by the end of this calendar year., according to the official.

"We are looking at retail expansion in India. We are planning to have 100 stores across India in the next five years, initially in the major metros, followed by tier II cities," Zen Diamond India Managing Director Neil Sonawala told PTI.

He said the stores will be located in quality malls, which already attract consumers and already have the presence of international brands.

For its India presence, the company has already invested Rs 100 crore, funded through internal accruals, he said.

"We plan to expand, at least up to 10-15 stores, through internal accrual. Post that, for 100 stores in India in the next five years, we will tap different channels for funding. Maybe it could also be a franchise or we could also have some other alternate funding arrangements. It's a bit premature to talk about that at this stage," he added.

Currently, Zen Diamond has over 450 stores across 20 countries.

Sonawala further said that Zen Diamond is launching an e-commerce platform and has also collaborated with Pernia's pop-up.

"We are launching an e-commerce platform. So, we will also have a shop-in-shop in 4-5 Bernier outlets by the end of the year," he added.

When asked about the jewellery designs, Sonawala said, the Zen Diamond stores in India will have 75-80 per cent of selected international designs.

"But, of course, in India we also need to blend with the local culture and the local taste and preferences. So, 20 per cent of designs are also created in India and which are more on the Indo-Western line. We are on the modern, trendy, international side of designs, ranging from Rs 20,000 and going all the way up to Rs 15 lakh. Our focus is everyday wear, evening wear and gifting," he added.

For this purpose, the company has set up a manufacturing unit in Mumbai with a capacity of producing 5 lakh jewellery pieces annually," he said.

"We have a manufacturing unit in Mumbai. So, everything is made in India in our facilities. We have a capacity of close to 35,000-40,000 pieces a month. So, almost 500,000 pieces a year," he added.

Courtesy: Economic Times