Jewellery brand Giva on Monday announced the closure of its extended series B funding round raising Rs 225 crore led by Premji Invest with new investors Epiq Capital, Edelweiss Discover Fund, and the company’s top management joining the round.
The round consisted of 35% primary investment and 65% secondary transaction, enabling a partial exit for A91 Partners and India Quotient.
The company did not disclose its current valuation, but according to Tracxn, Giva was valued at $172 million as of July 2023.
Giva plans to use the funds to expand its offline presence across India and enhance its lab-grown diamond offerings. In July, the company raised Rs 200 crore as part of its series B round led by Premji Invest, with participation from existing investors Aditya Birla Ventures, Alteria Capital, and A91 Partners.
In a secondary transaction, funds are used to purchase shares from existing shareholders, with no capital flowing into the company.
“We position ourselves as a value-driven, accessible brand for Indian women where if they want to buy fine jewellery at a more accessible price range, then they come to Giva. That was our thesis behind launching lab grown diamonds as well… The two major areas where we will make investments using this capital. We will continue our offline expansion journey and the expansion of our lab grown diamond offerings,” Ishendra Agarwal, founder and CEO of Giva, told ET.
The demand for lab-grown diamonds is rising primarily because they are significantly cheaper than natural diamonds while offering the same appearance. Currently, the company sells lab-grown diamonds set in gold.
Founded in 2019 by Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad, and Sachin Shetty, Bengaluru-based Giva Jewellery is an omnichannel jewellery brand offering products such as bracelets, earrings, necklaces, rings, and chains through its mobile app and website, offline stores, and third-party platforms. The company recently went live on quick commerce platforms like Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, and Zepto as well.
Giva currently operates around 160 stores in India, with one in Sri Lanka. The company plans to open over 100 stores annually in cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata. Currently, over 50% of its stores are in Bengaluru and New Delhi.
Further, Agarwal said that approximately 45% of Giva’s total sales come from its website, 40% from offline stores, and the remaining 15% from third-party platforms.
Although the company has yet to file its financials for FY24, Agarwal mentioned that Giva has achieved net revenue of Rs 255 crore and expects to close this fiscal year with revenue between Rs 480-500 crore.
For FY23, Giva reported a revenue of Rs 167.1 crore, nearly double of the Rs 84.6 crore the previous year. However, its losses widened to Rs 45.2 crore, up from Rs 19.1 crore in the same period, according to Tracxn.
The company is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) within the next two years, Agarwal added.
Following Titan’s acquisition of CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti’s stake last year, investor interest in omnichannel jewellery platforms has surged. On August 22, ET reported that jewellery retailer Bluestone had closed a Rs 900-crore financing round, more-than-doubling the firm’s valuation to $970 million (around Rs 8,100 crore).
Investors in this round included Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, Think Investments, and Infosys cofounder Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office, Pratithi Investments. Similarly, lab-grown jewellery brand Aukera recently raised around $3.2 million (Rs 26.7 crore) in its series A round led by Fireside Ventures.
“We are impressed by the Giva team’s strong commitment and relentless drive to build a best-in-class shopping experience for fine jewellery customers. We are excited to increase our investment as we partner with Giva on their growth journey,” said Kaveesh Chawla, partner, Premji Invest.
