SUMMARY
Set up in 2019, GIVA offers a wide range of affordable fine jewellery and thousands of designs
The brand is available on marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Nykaa and has an offline presence in 20 Indian cities
The startup aims to set up 100 offline stores by the end of 2022
Mention fine jewellery, and people would rarely think out of the box. Precious sparklers and the coveted yellow metal – unique pieces of gold and diamond jewellery – often top the priority list of aspirational consumers as these are expensive and exclusive. But few would place the legendary ‘moon metal’ in the same league as gold or know the worth of sterling silver and its enduring value.
“There are so many misconceptions around silver. People think it is not as valuable as gold, tarnishes quickly and does not last long,” said Sachin Shetty, cofounder of the silver jewellery brand GIVA.
Set up in 2019 by Shetty, Ishendra Agarwal and Nikita Prasad, the Bengaluru-based D2C brand is on a mission to glam up silver as the true staple and offers a varied collection of affordable fine jewellery in thousands of chic designs.
GIVA began its journey by making and selling silver jewellery on its website. But soon, it started crafting elegant signature pieces using gold (18K) and oxidised silver and a variety of precious and semi-precious gemstones like marcasite, zircon and more. Its collections of bracelets and necklaces, rings, earrings and anklets brought flair and class to everyday fine jewellery.
GIVA claims to have served more than 1 Mn customers and is listed on many go-to marketplaces like Amazon India, Myntra, Flipkart and Nykaa. It is also expanding its offline presence and is currently available in 20 cities. The D2C fine jewellery brand aims to reach INR 250 Cr in FY23, said Shetty.
Watch GIVA cofounder Sachin Shetty talk about the company’s growth, challenges and plans to move forward.
How GIVA’s ‘Silver Bullet’ Strategy Paid Off
Building trust and communicating effectively with customers were some of the biggest challenges faced by the D2C brand. Initially, the GIVA team used to call every customer to understand their preferences. However, doing everything manually, from collecting feedback to customer tracking, became too cumbersome as the brand grew and scaled up, admitted Shetty.
To address this challenge, GIVA partnered with Delhi-based martech platform Wigzo to enhance outreach and personalise communication across multiple channels.
“Earlier, we had a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach for all our customers. But Wigzo helped us personalise communications. More importantly, it helped us target customers in the way they are most comfortable, be it website push notifications, WhatsApp or email,” said Shetty.
According to him, GIVA has seen a significant jump in repeat customer rate post-automation. “Earlier, a customer would barely purchase from us once a year. Now it has gone up to at least twice a year,” said Shetty.
The fine jewellery startup has partnered with top influencers and several nano influencers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions for inclusive branding across Bharat. Plus, it has onboarded celebrity Anushka Sharma as its brand ambassador. “They help us spread the message that silver is the new gold,” said Shetty.
What’s Next For GIVA?
While the D2C brand aims to leverage its website as the primary sales channel, it wants to evolve into a comprehensive omnichannel entity. “By the end of this year, we aim to reach 100 offline stores,” said Shetty.
Like GIVA, many D2C brands like Melorra, STAC Fine Jewelry and the ilk have a similar value proposition. All of them offer a plethora of fine jewellery with a focus on quality and style statement. This has roused investor interest and led to several funding rounds for online jewellery players in the past few months.
In May 2022, Melorra raised $16 Mn in Series D, with participation from marquee investors such as Axis Growth Avenue, Capri Global and SRF Transnational Holdings. In June, GIVA raised a Series B round led by Aditya Birla Ventures and A91 Partners, along with Sixth Sense Ventures.
Building on its commitment to offer a wide range of fine jewellery to young women (in the age group of 24-35), GIVA claims to be launching up to 50 designs every week. “We want to make fine jewellery accessible to all and give our customers more choices,” concluded Shetty.
