Glitteray raises Series A round of funding

Wednesday, 14 March 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Glitteray Ltd., which owns and operates an online jewellery retailing platform, glitteray.com, has raised a Series A round of funding through a Sri Lankan venture capital firm, Third Lane Ventures (thirdlaneventures.com) led by Sudarshan Ahangama and Sanjiv Ahangama.

Founded in 2014, Glitteray is a jewellery brand that retails jewellery online. It is a vertically integrated business that designs, manufactures and retails silver jewellery. Glitteray was initially funded through a seed round through the Lankan Angel Network in 2014.

CEO Rayhana Iyne said: “I am proud to say Glitteray has been a disruptor – we are changing the way jewellery is manufactured, sold and bought in Sri Lanka. We are innovating across all dimensions with boldness; solving problems like manufacturer-retailer connect, personalisation, shopping experience, lack of transparency, etc.”

The firm intends to deploy the new capital it has raised into expanding further into new international markets and to establish a design/manufacturing studio, aptly named ‘The Artisan Hub’.

“The Artisan Hub was my vision to create a collaborative space for artisans and designers to work in closely with the team that leads the operations. We look forward to using technology to change how consumers buy jewellery online. We intend on using new innovating technologies to bring the online jewellery shopping experience closer and surpass the physical jewellery shopping experience. We have a lot of exciting ideas in the pipeline for coming months,” said Iyne.

Commenting on pricing and whether e-commerce is a viable business model when it comes to jewellery retailing, she said: “While e-commerce has become widely accepted in Sri Lanka, it has taken steady and sustained focus to democratise jewellery-buying online. From a website to social media for easy shopping to allowing our customers to explore jewellery and providing a no-barrier access to precious jewellery online, Glitteray has transformed jewellery-buying in Sri Lanka. Our brand is now associated with various design innovations and solutions.

“Our biggest challenge with online retailing was to build trust and to be able to give consumers a ‘touch and feel’ experience. Over the years, we rolled out various initiatives such as our ‘Try @ Home’ and Cash on Delivery’ that created credibility and assurance among our customers. More recently we launched our first offline presence, a partnership with LUV SL, Odel at Ward Place.”

Outlining current buying trends in the jewellery segment, she said the current trend is in personalisation and in the men’s accessory segment.

Commenting on the competition, she stated: “Our intent is not to worry about competition but to stay focused on our vision – to make beautiful jewellery that is affordable, accessible and forever wearable. We want to continuously raise the bar in making modern, wearable designs. We want to keep innovating and leveraging technology to deliver a better customer experience.”