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Kumar Birla, chairman of itya Birla Group, speaks during a panel session at the World Economic … [+]
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Kumar Mangalam Birla plans to invest 50 billion rupees ($605 million) to go into the jewelry business.
A statement from the itya Birla Group on Tuesday said a new venture, Novel Jewels, will open stores across India and feature in-house brands. It did not say when the first store will open.
“This foray is a strategic portfolio choice that allows us to tap into new growth engines and expand our presence in the vibrant Indian consumer landscape,” Kumar Birla, chairman of itya Birla Group, said in the statement.
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The group has been diversifying its revenue stream in the last two years. Earlier, it invested 100 billion rupees to venture into the paints industry and $250 million for launching an e-commerce platform for building materials.
According to the group, the new enterprise will make jewelry with diverse designs that cater to different tastes in various regions of India.
The Indian gems and jewelry market is projected to reach almost $120 billion by 2027, fueled by growing incomes and higher demand for luxury gifts for festivities and celebrations, according to a report by a Dublin-based firm, Research and Markets.
On the India’s 100 Richest list published last October by Forbes Asia, Kumar Birla was ninth, with a net worth of $15 billion. He is the fourth generation of the Birla family and inherited the business empire at age 28 after his father, itya Birla, died in 1995. The group, with 180,000 employees, has interests that span cement to financial business. It had revenue of $60 billion last year.
