Melorra Raises $24 Mn funding Melorra will use the funding to enhance tech capabilities, marketing, and expanding its experience center footprint in India
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Melorra, a D2C fine jewelry brand designing affordable, hallmarked, and trendy jewelry for everyday wear, on Wednesday announced to have raised $24 million in a funding round led by 9Unicorns, Symphony International Holdings Limited, Value Quest, Venture Catalysts, Param Capital, and family offices.
The funds raised will be used for a technology upgrade, ramping up brand marketing, and expansion of Melorra's experience centers pan-India.
"Disruption has been one of Melorra's foremost attributes ever since inception. From identifying the need for a transformation in the perception around gold to ensuring that all 718 districts in India have access to Hallmarked gold jewelry, Melorra's journey has been incredibly fulfilling. As a digital-first jewelry player, we have adopted a multi-channel strategy to ensure Melorra is where its customers are. In this light, this funding comes as an affirmation that we continue to lead in the right path. We will be focusing on enhancing our operations and marketing and expansion of our experience centre footprint across the country," shared Saroja Yeramilli, founder and chief executive officer, Melorra.
The company is aiming for $1 billion in revenue five years from now. Melorra is also currently spearheading a campaign to educate consumers about the importance of buying BIS Hallmarked gold jewelry in India.
"Gold jewelry brands are aplenty in India. While traditionally, gold jewelry conjures up images of something heavy and occasion worthy only, Melorra has broken that barrier and how! By ensuring that gold becomes fashionable for every woman at every stage in her life, the brand has charted a growth path unlike any other in the segment. And the gold comes with the Melorra guarantee – of Hallmark, quality, and variety. We are happy to enable the brand to take the next steps in their journey of consistent growth," said Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, co-founder, 9Unicorns.
Melorra has experienced consistent growth since its inception in 2016 and delivers Hallmarked gold to all 718 Indian districts, while the government mandates coverage in only 256 districts. The brand has delivered to over 2,700 towns in India so far and clocked 200 per cent year-on-year growth.
"As Melorra continues to innovate and transform the fast-fashion jewelry business through its digital capabilities and disruptive business model, Symphony is happy to be a part of the company's continuing story as it grows to become the Indian jewelry brand of choice," commented Anil Thadani, chairman, Symphony International Holdings Limited's Investment Manager, Symphony Asia.
"Most geniuses—especially those who lead others—prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities. Saroja is one such entrepreneur that embodies the quote "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication'. Melorra is not just an emerging disruptive challenger but a category creator with strong competitive advantage, thanks to its prolific everyday designs inspired from the global trends. Melorra has a large globally addressable market, demographically in a sweet spot, strong competitive advantage on design, a seasoned and passionate team, and to top it all an exponentially scalable sound business financial model," added Ravi Dharamshi, founder and managing director, Value Quest Investment Advisors.
Melorra's growth trajectory can be attributed to its customer-friendly policies and the fact that it is the only brand promising new lightweight gold jewellery collections every week – all of which are BIS certified. Going forward, the brand will be launching its international website. Melorra's current revenue is around INR 350 crore; they aim to become the largest daily wear jewellery company in India.
