Gitanjali to evaluate four more brands by December

Gitanjali Gems (GGL), an integrated diamond and jewellery retailing and manufacturing company, plans to evaluate four more brands — Gitanjali, Sangini, Gianti - store and Diya — by December.

Mehul Choksi, chairman and managing director of Gitanjali Group, said the purpose of the valuation was to understand customers’ acceptability of these brands and suggestions by the valuer to tighten any loophole.

“The major objective of the company is to understand what the value of these brands would be at the time of divestment, if any, and listing of individual brands in bourses.”

“Having been the pioneer in establishing branded jewellery as a category in India 15 years ago, we felt a need to look back and take stock of where the brands stand at present.”

The company is yet to finalise the brand valuer. But Choksi said Brand Finance and KPMG were the front runners. Sources in the company said KPMG might pip Brand Finance to bag the deal.

Last October, UK-based Brand Finance, which specializes in brand valuation and valuation of intangible assets, had valued four leading brands of GGL — Gili (Rs 468 crore), Nakshatra (Rs 514 crore), D’Damas (Rs 309 crore) and Asmi (Rs 210 crore).

Total worth of these brands was pegged at Rs 1,502 crore, with a potential for 1.5-2 times improvement by 2011-12.

Though KPMG has never done a jewellery brand valuation, it prepared a report on Indian jewellery industry on behalf of Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council two years ago.