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It appears that Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $100-Bn steel-to-software Indian conglomerate, is now betting big time in the Indian ecommerce segment. As after investing in Snapdeal, now Ratan Tata has now invested undisclosed amount in online jewellery store BlueStone.
“An investment by Ratan Tata who has been at the helm of India’s most successful and respected conglomerate is a validation of our approach in building an innovative brand that is disrupting the jewellery market,” Bluestone’s Kushwaha said.
BlueStone allows its customers to buy products like pendants, rings, bangles, earrings, etc, and hasa collection of about 2,000 designs. It also runs a gold deposit scheme through which buyers can pay monthly installments.
Earlier this year, it had raised $10 Mn investment led by Kalaari Capital with participation from investors Accel Partners and Saama Capital. Prior to this, it had raised $5 Mn from Accel Partners and Portea Medical CEO Meena Ganesh in 2012.
Bluestone was founded by Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, a graduate from IIT Delhi who had earlier also co-founded Chakpak, an online entertainment portal in 2007. Chakpak’s digital content was later acquired by Flipkart.
The company competes with Caratlane, Gitanjalishop.com, Voylla.com and few others.
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