Senco Gold launches India's first virtual jewellery showroom on metaverse

Senco Gold & Diamonds, which recently made its debut on stock exchanges, has taken a major step in the fast-evolving digital landscape by launching its first virtual showroom, ‘Sencoverse’ on the metaverse. The Kolkata-based jewellery retailer claimed that it is India's first virtual jewellery showroom on metaverse, aimed at connecting with the new age customers to redefine their shopping by providing them a more customised and seamless experience.

“Sencoverse, the digital platform from Eastern India's largest jewellery retailer, is a convergence of technology and artistry to bring the brand's exquisite jewellery to life in the virtual realm. The initiative offers an end to end shopping experience to customers, from hassle-free browsing of the virtual showroom to selection of items to receiving the chosen pieces at their doorsteps,” Senco Gold says in a release.

As per the release, customers can access ‘Sencoverse’ from the comfort of their digital devices from anywhere by simply visiting the website and entering some basic information.            

Suvankar Sen, MD & CEO of Senco Gold & Diamonds, said, “The launch of Sencoverse marks a significant leap in our digital transformation journey and our commitment to offer exceptional and hassle-free shopping experiences to our valued customers.”

“We believe that the digitally savvy millennials and Gen Z shoppers are the future of retail, and we want to be at the forefront of providing them with the personalized and convenient shopping experiences they want and need.”

“With Sencoverse, we are confident that they will embrace this innovative way of shopping. This initiative is not only a testament to our commitment to innovation, but also a strategic move into the future of retail,” he adds.

The release further states that Sencoverse offers an immersive, interactive, and gamified shopping experience. It allows customers to explore a meticulously designed virtual showroom, currently featuring a diverse collection of over 100 exquisite jewellery products. The showroom provides 360-degree views of jewellery items in stunning 3D detail, along with interactive features for zooming in on details and learning more about the products, enabling customers to experience the elegance of these finely crafted pieces in a whole new dimension.

The showroom also has an integrated Try On feature, allowing customers to virtually try on jewellery items using augmented reality technology and visualise how each piece complements their appearance, it notes.

Shares of jewellery retailer Senco Gold made debut on the stock exchanges on July 14, 2023, after raising ₹405 crore via IPO route, which comprised a fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to ₹270 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of equity shares up to ₹135 crore by a shareholder, SAIF Partners India IV Limited.

The Suvankar Sen-led company intends to utilise ₹196 crore of net proceeds from the fresh issue towards funding working capital requirements and the rest towards general corporate purposes. The firm, which primarily sells gold and diamond jewellery, generates nearly 85% of its revenues from gold jewellery, 10-11% from the sale of diamond jewellery, and the remaining 3-4% via sales of platinum, silver, and other products.

For the financial year 2022-23, the company’s revenue from operations stood at ₹4,075.56 crore compared to ₹3,534.64 crore in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, profit after tax was at ₹160.91 crore against ₹130.15 crore in FY22.

As of March 31, 2023, Senco Gold has 136 showrooms (75 company operated showrooms and 61 franchisee showrooms) with a total area of approximately 409,882 sq. ft., in 96 cities and towns across 13 states in India. The company also sells products through various online platforms, while it also undertakes wholesale exports of its jewellery primarily to Dubai, Malaysia, and Singapore.