Online jewellery marketplace Joolz raises US$500,000 in seed funding

Source: Joolz website (sic).  Banner for jewellery sales.

Joolz, an online jewellery community and a marketplace that facilitates jewellery retail has raised US$500,000 in funding as a part of its Pre Series A round from ah! Ventures and others.This current seed round was also led by Mahesh Ahuja, CEO, Brittman India; Sri Peddu, MD, Powerhouse Ventures, M&S Partners; Deepak Kasthwal, ex-CFO, OLA Cabs; and PKX Thomas, former Technology Head, Cleartrip.

Joolz' Founder Arnaud Lorie is looking to help consumers discover prices and options online and facilitate the offline process of buying the jewellery. Lorie says, "Buying jewellery is so closely intertwined with Indian culture that the act of simply selling it online is not going to create any significant impact in the market. We therefore want to be the single biggest facilitator of jewellery commerce, whether online, or more importantly offline."

Joolz brings together leading jewellery brands on a single platform.The startup aggregates and curates high-quality jewellery inventory and offers its consumers an unmatched discovery and shopping experience. Joolz enables two-way interaction between jewellery buyers and sellers through discussion, discovery and education. It is accessible online and as a smartphone app on Android and iOS platforms.

According to Joolz, online jewellery sales in India usually range between Rs15,000 and Rs30,000 per item. Joolz has reached an average selling price per item of Rs25,000 in an industry where the offline price per item is still hovering at Rs15,000. It has even managed to clock sales of up to Rs3 lakhs (about US$4,482).

The primary objective of the recent fund infusion will be to boost operations, products, marketing and further build up its team. The plan is to reach a new group of brands and investigate new revenue models, in order not to be a company solemnly focused on the online traction. The offline jewellery industry, valued at over US$40 billion, is largely untouched by technological initiatives.

Powerhouse Ventures' Managing Director Sri Peddu said, "What attracted us most was the company's rich understanding of the jewellery space and the passion with which they are planning to transform the way consumers interact with jewellery, online and offline."

Added Harshad Lahoti, Founder and CEO of ah! Ventures, India's first full-spectrum - seed, angel and venture capital (VC) - investment network, "The online jewellery market in India is expected to grow to US$3.6 billion over the next three years, which in itself makes the sector a lucrative one to invest in. In addition to that, given the background of the founder and their in depth understanding of the business, this enterprise has from the very beginning started off on the best foot possible. The jewellery business in India, as is in any part of the world, closely related to the culture and the emotional binding of the people buying it and only a team with understanding of this fact can successfully drive a business in this sector, to the top. We at ah! Ventures see that spark in Arnaud & his team and we are sure to see them being game changers in this industry."

Lorie said, "ah! Venture has immensely helped in quick closure of this round. Fast and efficient, they managed to add great value in terms of executions and and in bringing valued investors on board."