Evermore’s entry plans:

“We will have our first store in Pune in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra, followed by two more stores in the city and one in Delhi in the next few months,” Rohan Siroya, founder, Evermore, told Arabian Business.

“Within each of the top five [Indian] metros, we plan to have five key retailers selling the brand eventually,” Siroya said.

Siroya said all store formats will be full scale shop-in-shops with reputable retailers in the respective cities.

Siroya ALTR, a joint venture between well-known UAE-based jewellery brand Siroya and New York-based ALTR created diamonds, has earmarked $500,000 for its initial India entry plans, which will be increased significantly as its expansion plans gather more momentum going forward.

Regarding brand ambassador, Siroya said: “We are in talks with many iconic celebrities to work with the brand, within the film and music industries.”

He, however, said it was vital for the company to tie up with people who represent sustainability and the uncompromising quality values of its brand in their own personas.

Siroya said the India entry plan is in line with the company’s move to focus on the Middle East and sub-continent in the first phase of its global expansion plans.

Evermore was first launched in Dubai, London and Bahrain.

“India is a continent within itself and it requires concentrated effort. We understand this, being an international brand that truly understands regional tastes,” he said.

“We are beginning with the major metros first, but any store in India requires a minimum of $75000-$100,000 investment to begin with,” Siroya said.

Regarding the challenges in the Indian market, which already has several players in the field, Siroya said the diamond category requires end-to-end service by a wholesale provider who understands jewellery, not just diamonds.

India has multiple niches, which by market size would be considered a majority in other countries, he said.

“We will be barely at the tip of the iceberg in the nationwide market which boasts 300,000 plus retailers. However, we believe that design curation is the key differentiator which will continue to be a strong advantage for Evermore as the market heats up,” Siroya said.

Siroya-ALTR, which is known for its lab-grown diamonds, has already set up a plant in India, which is fast emerging as a major source for its supplies to even the UAE market.

“Our diamonds now come from our first facility in India, which is entirely solar powered. Besides, ALTR created diamonds, our partner firm, has moved to level two of carbon neutrality. We have begun our efforts to go in this direction by implementing recycled gold into our jewellery as well. We are perhaps a notch above many in the average market, Siroya said.

Siroya said his company’s diamonds are amongst the purest in the world, as they are ‘grown’ in an ultra-high-tech state-of-the-art laboratory, which is entirely powered by green power.

“Once cut and polished in our facilities, they make their way to the UAE where they are placed into jewellery creations in our workshops by skilled artisans. They are then certified by reputed third party labs like IGI and SGL, which specialise in grading diamonds,” he said.

“Every Evermore piece has a certificate by them,” he added.

Significantly, Evermore’s entry plans come amid a spike in India’s lab-made diamond exports, which is expected to reach $8 billion amid US demand surge.

“Vertical integration allows us to enjoy the benefits of this surge consistently. We continue to expand on the production side with additional capacity in the reactors at the ALTR plants,” Siroya said.

Source: Arabian Business