GIVA bets big on retail presence; aims to open over 500 offline stores

Resha Jain, chief brand officer, shares GIVA's expansion plans into lab-grown diamonds, men's jewellery, and staying relevant in the market.

GIVA, an Indian D2C jewellery brand established in 2019, initially started as an online brand selling silver jewellery. Over time, it expanded its retail presence in response to growing demand for silver jewellery.

Resha Jain, chief brand officer at GIVA, shares that GIVA now has 130 physical stores in India. She explains that entering the market through D2C allowed the brand to establish itself, identify product-market fit, and achieve scalability at a manageable cost, at least for a certain period.

She adds that customers prefer shopping offline, especially for jewellery, which is more of a touch-and-feel experience. She emphasises the importance of giving customers the opportunity to interact with both the product and the brand in a very physical sense. This is why GIVA decided to heavily invest in building exclusive brand outlets (EBO).

“It requires a lot of capital to invest in EBOs, so initially, a brand tries to operate in a very lean way. Then, of course, you raise money and decide to scale quickly, which aligns with our strategy. This is just the beginning, as we envision eventually having over 500 stores across the country. This is why we decided to go heavy on retail,” she says.

Standing out

The D2C segment has seen several jewellery brands catering to their consumers and selling at affordable prices. These brands include BlueStone, Ultrahuman, Melorra, Priyaasi, and Amama Jewels.

Jain says that what sets GIVA apart from its competitors is its focus on silver jewellery. She notes that no one had entered the silver jewellery space when GIVA was established. India has a very ethnic silver jewellery market, and these pieces are everyday jewellery that can even be worn to the office.

She highlights that the jewellery is not as expensive as gold pieces but is extremely relevant to Indian women today, providing a valuable choice while giving the brand something unique.

The brand recently ventured into making lab-grown diamonds, offering everyone the opportunity to own a piece of their dream jewellery. Lab-grown diamonds provide clarity in the cuts that consumers desire while being less expensive than natural diamonds. Jain adds that this factor enables the brand to lead in that space.

Talking about the idea behind introducing lab-grown diamonds, she says, “Lab-grown diamonds are something that consumers are gravitating towards. They are keen to buy them as it is an extremely new and relevant category. Consumers recognise that this is the next big thing and see no reason not to invest in it. Additionally, the designs are accessible to people, so we knew this was the right space for us to bring value to our audience and to ourselves as a brand.”

Target group

GIVA targets its products to people across the country, focussing on women who wear jewellery daily, such as those going to the office. Jain shares that another way of targeting consumers is through gifts, as the brand is also known for its gifting options.

GIVA's jewellery ranges from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 and according to Jain, it is prominent in the gifting market. She also mentions that the target group includes men from a gifting perspective. Therefore, the primary consumers are mostly between the ages of 23 and 40.

Apart from regular jewellery, GIVA caters to different festive occasions, with Rakshabandhan being a significant one. Jain explains that this festival is important for the brand because they also sell silver rakhis, some of which are convertible and can be worn as pendants later.

“Festivals such as Diwali, Dhanteras, Akshay Tritiya, and more are also big occasions for us. If you see our ads, they are centred around emotional themes such as happiness and joy from gifting love. It is all about tapping into these emotions. Therefore, we try to deploy a 360-degree approach and are mostly active online, but we also leave it to our consumers to choose their own medium of shopping. We are trying out all kinds of marketing mediums such as digital, below-the-line (BTL), and store branding,” she explains.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing has been a significant part of GIVA's strategy. From micro to macro to celebrities, it has engaged with several influencers across India for its large-scale campaigns. The brand roped in Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma as its brand ambassador in 2021.

Jain states that apart from Sharma, GIVA works with influencers across all touchpoints, whether it is social media, store visits, events, and more, which has really helped the brand.

“Influencer marketing has enabled us to showcase our products and reach out to our diverse audience. So, we are grateful for that avenue. We work with influencers who are more established and who have an audience that they speak to in a more authentic way,” she notes.

Some of the influencers that GIVA has worked with include Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi, Mouni Roy, Mahi Vij, Hina Khan, Debina Bonnerjee and Gurmeet Choudhary, Ishita Dutta and Vatsal Sheth, Tina Dutta, and Disha Madan.

Jain remarks that depending on the content, the company works with different influencers. The brand has seen its content pieces grow up to millions of views with influencers as small as 3,000 followers because that content has resonated with people.

“We think that every influencer plays a very big role in this ecosystem, and as a brand, it is very important that we also empower them in their own journey of growing and becoming A-league influencers,” she adds.

Jain states that Sharma will continue to be the company’s ambassador as she is a perfect fit for the brand. The company also aims to expand the men's jewellery and lab-grown diamonds, making them significant parts of their offering.