The Aditya Birla group is foraying into the branded jewellery retail business that will pitch it against Titan, Reliance Retail and Kalyan Jewellers among others. The Kumar Mangalam-led conglomerate is investing Rs 5,000 crore in this new venture called Novel Jewels.

The plan is to build a large-format exclusive jewellery retail store across India, with in-house jewellery brands. The branded jewellery retail is Aditya Birla group’s third major foray into a new business in the last two years after paints, and B2B e-commerce for building materials.

A statement from the group said that the new venture will seek to transform the customer experience by creating an aspirational national brand with unique designs and a strong regional flavour.

According to group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, the venture is a strategic portfolio choice that allows it to tap into new growth engines and expand its presence in the Indian consumer landscape.

“With rising disposable income, discerning and aspirational consumers are leaning more towards design-led, bespoke, and high-quality jewellery. This venture will capitalise on our deep expertise in lifestyle retail and nuanced understanding of consumer preferences,” he added.

The branded jewellery retail venture will be operated by a newly recruited leadership team.

India’s gems and jewellery market contributes around 7 per cent to the GDP. The jewellery market is projected to grow to $90 billion by 2025.

Shares of its potential rivals exhibited a mixed trend with shares of Titan finishing nearly a per cent higher at Rs 2881.5.

The Kalyan Jewellers scrip settled 0.64 per cent lower at Rs 111.05.