De Beers to open 100 Forevermark stores in India by 2030

Mumbai: Global diamond major De Beers plans to open 100 flagship and franchise stores for its Forevermark brand across India by 2030, a top company executive said on Friday.

Currently, the company has 10 Forevermark brand stores in India, six of which are company-owned and the remaining four are on a franchise model, De Beers global senior vice president Shweta Harit told PTI.

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"India is the largest and fastest-growing market, with demand increasing at an average annual rate of 13 per cent. We will follow a combination model, that is, company-owned and franchise, in the country because I feel that in a market like India, if you want to get scale and pace, you will have to move quite fast," Harit said.

For this expansion, De Beers is mainly looking at multiple stores in the top 20 cities in the country.

"Currently, we are in Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Bangalore, and the next one is opening in Pune and Kolkata. We should have multiple stores in the top 20 cities and should saturate there first, and then we go on to other cities," she added.

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She further noted that diamonds are increasingly becoming part of festive-season demand and expressed optimism about the company's performance this year, building on positive momentum last year.

"The retailers were looking quite favourably at the festive season. Forevermark had a very good September, and I feel quite confident that it will be quite positive," she added.

Factors like growth in modernisation and self-purchase are mainly boosting demand, as 51 per cent of sales come from the younger generation or Gen Z, she said.

"I feel overall there have been many factors, including the growth in modernisation and self-purchase. And I think overall workwear and fashion also have a role as well. The growth is mainly driven by the younger generation. And 51 per cent of this growth is driven by Gen Z or the younger generation," she added.

According to a company's 'Acquisition Study', women's ownership of diamond jewellery in India has risen to 15 per cent, she stated.

Harit also mentioned that average demand for caratage in India increased up to 0.79 carats from earlier 0.64.

"I would think that over the next 2-3 years the demand for higher caratage will also grow," Harit added.