Gitanjali Gems Ltd has acquired two jewellery brands, Nirvana and Viola, the company stated in a BSE filing. Prior to the acquisition, Nirvana was a brand owned by Fine Jewellery (India) Ltd and Viola's holding company was Cogent Jewellery. These brands were acquired through Spectrum Jewellery Ltd, a step down subsidiary of the company. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Both these acquisitions will add to the portfolio of branded jewellery that Gitanjali Group offers to domestic consumers. While the acquisitions will help the group to further expand its retail network and increase its market share in the organised retail space, Nirvana and Viola will benefit through the marketing and branding done under the Gitanjali umbrella.
Nirvana is a 15-year-old diamond jewellery brand and is sold through over 106 shop-in-shops across the country, particularly in the western and southern regions, which together account for 70 per cent of its revenues. The brand also owns one stand-alone store. It is a part of Fine Jewellery (India) Limited, a Mumbai-based manufacturer of diamond studded gold and platinum jewellery.
Viola is relatively a younger brand and is present in 60 shop-in-shops mainly in the northern and western regions. It offers coloured stones and electro foaming Italian designs for occasion wear and party wear and targets the middle and upper middle class. Cogent Jewellery, the holding company of Viola, has a joint venture with the Dynamix Jewellery Group, which runs jewellery and chain manufacturing units with an annual turnover of $200 million.
Gitanjali has also acquired a manufacturing facility based at Andheri, where Nirvana and Viola’s jewellery is manufactured. The plant’s technology enables making jewellery pieces look much larger using lesser gold.
In August, Gitanjali Gems Ltd had acquired 15.3 per cent stake in Japanese jewellery retailer Verite Co. Ltd for Rs 25 crore ($4.5 million). In March, Gitanjali Gems acquired Japan-based Leading Jewels of Japan K K for an undisclosed amount. Last year it acquired four companies (or additional stake in existing arms) including Hong Kong-based Crown Aim Ltd in December, Italy-based Giantti Italia SRL (acquired remaining 10 per cent stake in June after picking 90 per cent stake for $13.5 million in 2010), Mumbai-based N & J Finstocks Pvt Ltd (in March) and Italy-based DIT Group SpA (in February).
Gitanjali Group is one of the largest branded jewellery companies in India with interests in diamond jewellery, retail and lifestyle businesses. The company operates across the US, the UK, Belgium, Italy, the Middle East, Thailand, South-east Asia, China and Japan. The bouquet of brands owned by the group in Italy includes Stefan Hafner, iO Si, Porrati, Novelle Bague and Valente.
(Edited by Prem Udayabhanu)
