CaratLane Stories — Correcting the many myths about CaratLane
By avnishanand
The author is the Chief Operating Officer of CaratLane.
In the last few months, there has been a sudden surge in the interest people have started to take in CaratLane. In large part, it has to do with people suddenly discovering, that CaratLane was at a 2000+ crore revenue run rate with high profitability. A lot of people have asked us a lot of questions. Based on that, I realized that there were many incorrect myths about us. This article aims to correct the most common myths about CaratLane. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
Myth — We are a tech company in the jewellery business. Like edtech, food tech, agri tech, and fintech, we are a jewellery or retail tech company. There is an alternate view that we are a jewelry company and tech is an enabler.
Both of these things are right and wrong.
Like Apple which creates hardware and software which are in perfect harmony with each other, in CaratLane, jewelry, and a digital mindset are deeply interconnected and in perfect sync with each other. It is deeply rooted in the psyche and culture of the organization. So much so that even jewelry designers make most of their decisions based on data and customer experiments and even product and marketing people know the finer nuances of jewellery.
Myth — That creating a great omnichannel business is our end goal.
No, it’s not. It’s just a means to an end. The end goal is higher conversion and better consumer experience. Do whatever that takes. Omni is one of the many means that happened organically as we solved these two problems. And omni doesn’t just mean opening stores, getting an app, and a CRM. Omni @CaratLane is a full-stack ecosystem that enables better conversion and experience in every pin code with high demand.
Myth — That we are no longer a start-up and have been subsumed within Titan.
No, we are not. We are still a startup with a day-zero mentality. Raising money and not making any is not a mandatory condition for a start-up. And god bless the good folks at Titan. They have supported us in everything and added value in a gazillion ways. And have allowed CaratLane to operate independently. Just come and spend a day with us and see for yourself.
Myth — That our mission is to disrupt jewellery buying behavior, manufacturing techniques, and selling methodologies.
Not at all. We are very respectful of the rich historical legacy of the Jewellery industry and its social codes. Buying jewellery involves a lot of tradition, emotion, and experience. Selling involves a lot of relationship building. We have a rich diversity of handmade jewellery-making techniques. We don’t want to disrupt any of that. We want to make sure that we heighten that customer experience. Deliver highly personalized service like small family jewellers nat scale. Restore long-lost techniques like Banarsi Meenakari by giving them a contemporary flavor. Do all of this better than anyone else. With fewer failures and errors. At scale. Using digital and data.
Myth — That affordability means the cheapest and lowest price.
No, it does not. For us, affordability means great designs even at lower price points. Affordability means a bigger, more aesthetic look using less raw material than what’s available otherwise. By working hard on designs and using modern manufacturing techniques.
Myth — That our TAM is the studded jewellery market.
No, it’s not. Our purpose is to “help customers express their emotions through jewellery”. Based on that, our real market opportunity is every purchase where someone wants to celebrate a special moment or occasion for themselves or someone important in their lives. For that opportunity, we are not competing only with other jewellers. But with everyone who makes a product or a service which addresses that need. Like travel and watches and handbags and many other things.
Myth — That digital means technology.
That’s for companies selling digital transformation. For us digital means data. It means objectivity. It means agility. It means to scale. It means transparency and collaboration. The use of technology just enables all of that. And by the way, data isn’t just limited to numbers. At CaratLane, we think of it as information. We think of it as both English and Maths. This means it also covers full Customer Journeys, Ethnographic Research, Listening to calls and chats, Customer interviews, etc.
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