Ratan Tata-Backed BlueStone’s Loss Narrows 43% To INR 13.8 Cr In Pandemic-Hit FY21

Bengaluru-based jewellery retailer BlueStone’s FY21 loss narrowed by about 43% to INR 13.8 Cr in the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) as the startup’s revenue increased and expenses saw a marginal rise. 

This is the second consecutive year of decline in the startup’s net loss. BlueStone had reported a net loss of INR 24.1 Cr in FY20, a substantial 52% decline from its FY19 loss of INR 50.3 Cr.

On the other hand, BlueStone also saw a 5.5% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its revenue from operations to INR 269 Cr in FY21 as the product sales increased further in the period. 

However, the growth was lower than the 30% YoY rise in FY20 sales to INR 255 Cr. The startup’s sales were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns in FY21.

“The operations of the Company were impacted, due to nationwide lockdown imposed by the Government,” BlueStone said in regulatory filing.

However, the startup managed to cut certain expenses in FY21, and, as a result, its total expenses were up only about 1.8% YoY to INR 285.5 Cr from INR 280.5 Cr in FY20.

The largest contributor to its total expenses in FY21 was the cost of materials consumed. BlueStone’s expenditure in this segment stood at INR 189 Cr in the year, contributing 66% to its total expenses. However, on a YoY basis, cost of materials declined 13% from INR 218.2 Cr in FY20.

The startup’s employee expenses also fell as it spent INR 22.5 Cr in FY21 as against INR 26.4 Cr in FY20. In fact, BlueStone spent INR 19.2 Cr on salaries and wages in FY21, down from INR 21.4 Cr in the prior fiscal year.

Despite a reduction in these expenses, BlueStone spent INR 20.4 Cr on advertising and promotions in FY21, which was a 54.5% jump from the previous fiscal year’s spending at INR 13.2 Cr.

Moreover, the startup’s expenditure on rent also shot up by 43% to about INR 9.6 Cr in FY21. Its miscellaneous expenses, which include certification and hallmarking charges, payment gateway charges, provision for contingencies, shipping charges, among others, jumped about 85% YoY to INR 22.9 Cr in FY21 as against INR 12.4 Cr in FY20.

BlueStone, founded in 2011 by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha and Vidya Nataraj, is an omnichannel jewellery platform. It claims to offer over 8,000 designs across jewellery types such as rings, pendants, earrings and other products, in both precious metals and fashion jewellery categories.

As per publicly available data, BlueStone has so far raised $111 Mn in total funding. In July 2020, it raised about $2 Mn (INR 14.73 Cr) in a Series E funding round led by Accel with participation from IIFL Seed Ventures, and Kalaari Capital, among other investors.

Ratan Tata is also one of the investors in BlueStone. In its latest round of funding, the startup raised $30 Mn led by Hero Enterprise’s Sunil Kant Munjal.

As per reports from earlier this year, BlueStone is also planning to raise over INR 1,500 Cr through its initial public offering (IPO). It has already appointed investment bankers, including ICICI Securities, IIFL Securities, Jefferies and JM Financial, for the same.

According to IBEF data, India’s gems and jewellery market size was $78.50 Bn in FY21, while FDI inflows in diamond and gold ornaments in the country stood at $1.19 Bn between April 2000 and June 2021.