Voylla.com to open 25 offline retail stores in offline expansion plan

The two-year-old company, which currently has three offline stores, is gearing up to launch 25 shop-in-shops across the country

Voylla.com, a jewellery and accessories shopping website run by Bengaluru-based Voylla Retail Private Limited, is planning to set up exclusive offline stores to consolidate its presence in the Indian fashion imitation jewellery industry, said its founder and chief executive officer Vishwas Shringi.

The two-year-old company, which currently has three offline stores, including one in Bengaluru, is gearing up to launch 25 shop-in-shops across the country in tie-up with retail chains like Future Group’s Central within the next one-and-a-half year.

“Of these, six stores will come up in the southern states, including one in Hyderabad in the next three months and one in Chennai in three months from then. Each of these stores, with a carpet area of 100 sft, is expected to generate revenues of Rs 5 lakh per month,” Shringi said.

The company, which has so far raised $2 million (approximately Rs 12 crore) from angel investors, is looking at raising $10 million (Rs 60 crore) from venture capital firms within a couple of months to fuel its expansion, he added.

Voylla.com is the latest to join the league of ecommerce players entering the offline retail business. While Flipkart has opened its first brick-and-mortar store ‘Fliptomania’ in Bengaluru and online jewellery store Bluestone.com launched outlets in Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi in 2014, online fashion retailer Myntra.com is gearing up to roll out offline stores in due course.

“Though the online business is growing at a fast clip, its contribution is a mere two per cent while the rest is from offline sales. If we foresee the scenario five years down the line, 90 per cent would still be offline. Hence, offline channel cannot be ignored by any brand,” Shringi said.

Stating that the fashion imitation category is a $2-billion market in India, and expected to touch $6 billion by 2020, he said the company offers more than 10,000 designs in imitation, silver and 14-18-karat gold jewellery under its portfolio.

Voylla.com reported revenues of Rs 6 crore in the last financial year. Around 70 per cent of its revenues is derived from jewellery while accessories account for the remaining. The average order ticket at Voylla is Rs 1,100. “We expect to clock Rs 33 crore in revenues this fiscal on the back of the offline channel multiplication,” Shringi said.