World Gold Council sells 'Azva' brand to PC Jeweller

The company acquired the brand through one of its wholly-owned subsidiary

World Gold Council (WGC) has sold its bridal jewellery brand, Azva, to PC Jeweller Ltd’s wholly-owned subsidiary. PC Jeweller, a billion-dollar revenue company, has informed the BSE of the acquisition through one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Luxury Products Trendsetter.

Azva, India’s first concept-based gold bridal jewellery brand, was launched by the WGC in 2012 to demonstrate the potential of the branded jewellery segment in the country. It has since carved out a niche in the premium bridal gold jewellery market.

Vipin Sharma, chief executive officer  of Luxury Products Trendsetter, declined to divulge details of the transaction. “In three years, we will reach out to 40 cities, set up lounge for promoting this brand, and consider expanding into gems and precious stone bridal jewellery,” he added. The company would also consider expanding into non-bridal segment.

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Somasundaram P R, country managing director at WGC, said: “Under WGC, there were 130 Azva branded zones in top retail outlets across 40 cities in India. We are also working with MMTC as the marketing associate for the Indian Gold Coin, launched by the Prime Minister in November last year. We also provide marketing support for ‘My Gold Plan’, a gold accumulation product currently retailed by Reliance Capital.”

Asked if WGC would exit the branded jewellery segment, he said: “Jewellery remains the single-most important source of gold demand globally and in India, we’ll continue to provide insight, analysis and information on the market. WGC will always remain active and support the trade  through policy advisory, new ideas and other such forms of intervention in the jewellery market. Our role as an organisation is to act as a catalyst, to stimulate demand and new ideas and to ensure that gold remains relevant to numerous audiences.”