The e-commerce industry is growing by 30 plus per cent year-on-year. The industry has grown from Rs.1,120 crore in December 2008 to Rs.2,050 crore in December 2010, according to Mithun Sacheti, CEO, CaratLane, quoting a recent ‘Digital Commerce' report published by IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India).
“We were among the few to have foreseen the market and started CaratLane”, Mr. Sacheti said. He said recently CaratLane had received a $6 million investment from New York-based hedge fund Tiger Global, a privately owned investment manager firm. “This inflow of funds will be used for strengthening our back-end and in augmenting our customer base through enhanced reach owing to a refreshed approach to our marketing and brand building effort” he added.
CaratLane was promoted in 2007 by Mithun Sacheti, a jewellery retailer under the brand Jaipur Gems, and Srinivasa Gopalan, a technocrat and founder of Lister Technologies Pvt. Ltd., an IT outsourcing firm.
CaratLane.com , the largest online diamond and diamond jewellery portal, was launched in October 2008. Mr. Sacheti told this correspondent that CaratLane was planning to set up several Solitaire Lounges in major metros this year to provide customers with a unique solitaire purchase experience.
CaratLane carries virtual inventory of over 1.20 lakh solitaires and over 1,000 designs of diamond and studded jewellery.
The CEO said revenue during fiscal 2011 was about Rs.50 crore.
The company, which was well funded with equity and venture capital investment, was expecting to reach an annualised run rate of Rs.135 crore during fiscal 2012, he added.
Published - July 04, 2011 10:26 pm IST
