IPO-bound Senco Gold looks to expand presence in northern India

Senco Gold Ltd, a dominant jewellery retail player in Kolkata, is planning to step up its presence in northern India, MD&CEO Suvankar Sen said.

At present, the IPO-bound company has 127 showrooms across the country, of which West Bengal accounts for 63 per cent.

The company sells its products under the "Senco Gold & Diamonds" trademark through multiple channels, including 70 company-operated showrooms and 57 franchisee showrooms.

"A part of the IPO proceeds would be utilised to open new stores across the country but our focus would be north India," Sen said.

It has 20 showrooms in North India, spread across, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

In addition, the company is aiming to increase its presence in the digital space through its online platforms as well as through online marketplaces.

The company filed its preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi in April this year to raise Rs 525 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).

It has already received Sebi's go-ahead to float the initial share-sale. The IPO comprises fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 325 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of equity shares to the tune of Rs 200 crore by selling shareholder - SAIF Partners India IV Ltd.

The company proposes to use Rs 240 crore of net proceeds from the fresh issue towards funding working capital requirements and the remaining for general corporate purposes.

SAIF Partners, which currently has 19.23 per cent stake in the company, is looking to divest a part of its holding. It is not exiting the company, Senco Gold CFO Sanjay Banka said.

Apart from gold jewellery, which is the major contributor to Senco's revenues, the company intends to increase its diamond jewellery sales also in a bid to increase overall profit margins, Sen said.

"We believe that consumer demand for diamond jewellery in India has increased at relatively higher rates compared to the demand for gold jewellery," he added.

The company claims to have 10 lakh loyal customers. Its revenue from operations grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 10 per cent from Rs 2,420 crore as of March 31, 2020 to Rs 2,660 crore as of March 31 last year.

In 2020, private equity fund manager sponsored by the Oman Investment Authority and State Bank of India invested Rs 75 crore in Senco Gold.

In future also, the company may consider investment from other private equity players too, Sen said.