TECH STARTUP
OF THE MONTH
JOHAREEZ.COM
Shreya Bhattacharya
Published 4 April 2016
In early 2008, when e-commerce had just started picking up pace in India, and baazi.com was bought by eBay for $50 million, Gajendra Gupta realised that the time to shift base to India had arrived. The 39 year old moved to Jaipur from the US in 2010 to start Johareez.com, a Jaipur-based marketplace for jewellery and fashion accessories.
His 38-year-old brother Pradeep Gupta and co-founder of Johareez is based out of US. Hardly new to the jewellery industry, Gajendra and Pradeep had spent their childhood and college days learning the ropes from their father who owned a jewellery business in USA.
Starting early
In 1976, when Gajendra was a year old, his family migrated to New York. He did his schooling and graduation in Business Administration/Management from the City University of New York (CUNY).
Watching their father build a huge and successful business from scratch, both Gajendra and Pradeep decided to focus on the jewellery sector but they moved their attention to finished jewellery unlike their father, who was into gemstones and a member of the IDCA (Indian Coloured Stone Association, New York).
Their father was supplying cubic zirconia jewellery in sterling silver to major stores and wholesale clients throughout US but when the cubic zirconia market faded out, he was left with scrap and unsellable jewellery which was stored away until it later opened up new opportunities for his sons. In 1998, the duo formed Quintessence Jewelry Corporation (QJC) during their college years. At their first jewellery exhibition in 2000, in Las Vegas, Nevada, they worked on metal scrap and old tarnished jewellery to make them look brand new, and took the entire line to the exhibition. That was the beginning of a very successful journey for the brothers. Gajendra is still active in the company decision-making from Jaipur.
The Jeweller
Of Johareez's journey so far, Gajendra says, "Johareez is a unique twist to our dotcom domain. The term 'Joharee' means 'jeweller'. We were aiming to become the jewellery marketplace model for India," says Gajendra.
Competition in India includes CaratLane, Bluestone and Voylla, but Gajendra says that having their own manufacturing of precious jewellery and the power to curate fashion/imitation jewellery, along with providing the platform for sellers to list their products up for sale, gives them an edge over the others. “We are the only marketplace business model focussing completely on the precious and fashion jewellery segment within India. We are unique this way, which is why we tag ourselves as India’s jewellery and fashion accessories marketplace,� he adds.
With over 25,000 product listings on the site, across various categories, their jewellery range between Rs 99 and 50,000.
Though the ride has not been easy, they have seen growth at a CAGR of 35 percent during the period of 2012-15. Johareez currently ships about 1,200 to 1,500 orders per week, with an average ticket of Rs 900 to 1,500 in the fashion jewellery category, and Rs 3,500 to 5,000 in the precious jewellery category, and have approximately one million page views per month and about 25,000 unique visitors to the site per month.
Markets and operations –India and USA
With a branch office in New York, Pradeep is an advisor to the board at Johareez.com and currently oversees Johareez’s North American market operations, along with the recent launch of the US site.
With a team of 50+ strong members operating out of Jaipur, Gajendra actively looks over all key areas of growth including business development, product development, sales and operations, marketing, logistics, brand management and creative direction for the company.
As someone who has experience of operating both in the US and Indian markets, Gajendra has some interesting insights to share. Due to the strong banking and credit card system in the United States, users are used to making purchases using their credit cards in stores so they never really hesitated to use the same mode of payment when making online purchases over the internet. It was a seamless transition, which boosted the entire e-commerce ecosystem in the country and made it what it is today. Logistics too in the States has always been strong. In India, the dynamics are completely different. First off, the Internet infrastructure itself had been a drawback given unreliable speeds, and the majority of users still do not have a credit card. Reliance on net banking was high. Eventually cash on delivery kicked in and changed the entire canvas for all dotcom players in the market.
Challenges
Understanding key product metrics in building a successful business has been a challenge for Gajendra, given that trends change quickly in the online jewellery sector. On-boarding online sellers has been a challenge too. "Nevertheless; we've had a successful run and are getting more and more sellers connected with us. We will need to continue getting more registered sellers, more merchandise on board, and build more online traffic to our site to take our company to the next level," says Gajendra.
The road ahead
Johareez.com is looking for funding to scale their operations and market reach both across India and abroad. The funding will also be used to scale up marketing, technology, logistics, increase seller registrations and vendor product building across both precious and fashion jewellery categories.
Source: yourstory.com
http://yourstory.com/2016/04/johareez/
Published 13 March 2016
Sports fever, these days, on its utmost height. Johareez.com is not also untouched with it. The renowned jewellery portal has organized a cricket tournament at Chaugan Stadium on Saturday, 12 March, 2016. The participating teams were Johareez Stallions and Johareez Stars.
Johareez Stalians win over Johareez Stars by 6 runs. Johareez's stallions targeted 177 runs whilst the opponent teams made 171 runs.
CEO Gajendra Gupta, Johareez.com played the role of captain for Johareez stallions. The tournament will run for one month, added CEO
Prashantt Guptha- Johareez's brand ambassador and the emerging star of Bollywood add stars to the event. The celeb has shown his impeccable acting skills in movies- Identity Card, Issaq and the latest hit Neerja, starring Sonam Kapoor.
When asked for the future plans, the actor said,'To achieve the goals, you ought to have a perfect blend of talent, luck and time and I am trying to give the best.'
The hunk will soon be featured in Arshad warsi and Naseeruddin Shah movie- Irada. Prashantt said, 'both the actors are full of talent and it was a great fun working with them'
Source: Rajasthan Patrika
http://epaper.patrika.com/c/9100701
Published 13 March 2016
Source: Rajasthan Patrika
http://epaper.patrika.com/c/9100701
Published February 2016
Pashantt Guptha, who played the role of a flight attendant in Sonam Kapoor-starrer 'Neerja', is elated at the film's success.
He says, "People have liked my performance and I have been getting congratulatory messages. 'Neerja' is a stamp on my career's boarding pass for it to take off in Bollywood." Born and brought up in New York, the actor adds that the newfound success means a lot to him. He elaborates, "I had acted in six films earlier but none of them fared well at the box office.
Now, the industry has started recognising me and taking me seriously. I have also realised the importance of working with an established studio." In his next film Irada, the actor will share screen space with Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi. "I play a Sardar in the film. The prospect of working with an icon like Naseer saab was exciting," he adds. Prashantt has also been signed as the face of an online jewellery brand and is the Indian ambassador for an international festival.
Source: timesofindia | 02 March 2016
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Prashantt-Gupthas-career-takes-off/articleshow/51194093.cms
Published February 2016
There was a time when jewellery and accessories were feminine terms. Things have now turned more towards men's popularity. Keeping with the trend, joharee.com has chosen actor Prashantt Guptha as the face of their men's line and partnered with the Rajasthan International Film Festival, keeping in mind the popularity of the actor and the brand, both of which hail from the state.
Prashantt Guptha, an award-winning global actor, who is the face of international film festivals of the likes of FogSV from Silicon Valley and Rajasthan Film Festival and was seen as the main villain of Issaq, follwed by Identity Card and 6-5-2 will soon be seen in Irada with Nasseruddin Shah, 19the January with Deepti Naval and Sonam Kapoor-starrer Neerja among others, has been now chosen as the face of the Johareez men's line.
Says Gajendra Gupta, the man behind Johareez.com, "the celebrity's likability quotient is high with Johareez. We are extremely proud to have attached Prashant Guptha, with us who has endorsed his very own line of men's jewellery connecting to his creative and aesthetic side. Choosing Prashantt to endorse our brand has much to do with his rising popularity in Rajasthan, as he is a native of this state. His line of tungsten rings, stainless steel jewellery, along with men's precious silver diamond rings have been very popular sellers on Johareez.com. Fad for fashion jewellery which is generally motivated from Bollywood and daily soap operas will add more demand in coming years."
Prashantt Guptha is elated about this home-connect with Rajasthan that seems to be constantly evolving itself. "You can say, total connect. Rajasthan is my native state," says Prashantt with pride. "First, Rohit Verma chose me because of this connect. He found my looks apt for a royal prince and last year RIFF bestowed upon me The Pride of Rajasthan Award. I guess it's just my state and its people showing their love and support by granting me honours and opportunities. Likewise goes for johareez.com, the superb online jewellery and watch portal with its HQ in Rajasthan, which has me as the face of its men's collection. I just finished shooting this campaign and it felt great wearing men's jewellery that is very trendy and stylish. And obviously since this campaign again brought me closer to my roots."
Interestingly, the men's jewellery market is a small sector as compared to women's bridal or fashion jewellery segment, but is slowly gaining momentum as more and more men are showing interest in accessorizing them with jewellery. More and more men, especially in the metro cities are buying and wearing jewellery as daily accessories.
"With recent shift in jewellery consumption trends, women prefer wearing hair ornaments, chokers, single-earrings, multiple rings on one hand, & historical inspired jewellery ornaments. Given the young demographic which is hopping for latest looks online and interesting choice online p we estimate that Fashion category will se 400% growth in the next 3 years and rival electronics and mobile category in GMV," explains Gupta.
Source: simplyjaipur.in | February 2016
Published February 2016
There was a time when jewellery & accessories were feminine. Things have now turned more towards men's popularity. Keeping with the trend, Johareez.com has chosen actor Prashantt Guptha as the face of their men's line and partnered with the Rajasthan International Film Festival, Keeping in mind the popularity of the actor & the brand, of which hail from the state.
Prashantt Guptha, an award winning Global actor, who is the face of the international film festivals of the likes of FogSV from Silicon Valley and Rajasthan Film Festival and was seen as the main villain of Issaq, followed with Nasserudin Shah, 19th Januuary with Deepti Naval & Sonam Kapoor-starrer Neerja amongst others, has been now chosed as the face of Johareez men's line. His line of tungsten rings, stainless steel jewellery, along with men's precious silver diamond rings have been very popular sellers on Johareez.com. Fad for fashion jewellery which is gernerally motivated from Bollywood & daily soap operas will add more demand in coming years. Prashantt Guptha is elated about this home connect with Rajsathan that seems to be constantly evolving itself.
Source: Film&tv Trade Preview | February 2016
Published January 2016
Fashion is not a women centric word. Thanks to the metrosexual trend and mythological styles, jewelleries and accessories are pretty much into the men's wardrobe. Johareez is one startup that has vowed to take up men's fashion and accessories more seriously. Let's explore Johareez.com in this month's startup story.
Johareez - the terms descends from Joharee that implies jewellers in Hindi and Urdu. The startup Johareez.com is a one stop online shopping destination for jewellery & fashion accessory lovers. Founded by Gajendra Kumar Gupta, Johareez is aimed as the jewellers and fashion marketplace, where they offer online shoppers the opportunity to purchase Precious and Fashion Jewellery products they wish to add to their fashion wardrobe.
Johareez is consistently partnering with mass merchandisers, fashion brands, jewellery merchants who are wanting to sell & promote their jewellery & fashion lifestyle products via Johareez.com's online marketplace.
Jewellery offers are available both the Fixed Price selling format & are listed to be won through real time Live Auctions environment. Johareez.com has over 25000+ jewellery products listed on site which are available for shoppers to purchase with One Day Delivery option while using convenient payment options such as Cash on Delivery (COD). Shipping is FREE across PAN India, and International Shipping options are also widely available for shoppers to place their orders.
Indian imitation jewellery market has witnessed tremendous growth in the past several years. Fashion jewellery has been prevalent, especially amongst the college going teenagers. Since the prices are cheap, they can get a wide variety and also keep up with the changing fashion. The fashion jewellery market is rapidly growing in quantum, patronized mainly by the youngsters. This young generation of women consumers tend to buy pendant & earring sets, bridal rings, jhumki earrings, brooches and have also expressed immense interest in purchasing precious jewellery products featuring silver with genuine gemstones.
Adding to all the excitement, currently men too have indulged in shopping for jewellery than ever before. They are adorning themselves with masculine designs including but not limited to fancy bracelets, studs, rings, cufflinks, and chains which is showcased on johoreez.com.
Johareez.com is very proud to have connected with Prashantt Guptha, an upcoming Bollywood actor who originally hails from our very Jaipur. Having him on board is a feeling of pride and a full 'exhibit'ion of our loyalty to our very native. He is known for his dramatic roles in lssaq, Identity Card and 6-5=2, to name a few.
Gajendra: The men's jewellery market is a small sector as compared to women's bridal or fashion- jewellery segment, but over the course of time this market is slowly gaining momentum as more and more men are showing interest in accessorizing them with jewellery. The credits are to be given to the jewellery designers who have redesigned and reinvented the significance of jewellery as a fashionable commodity for men. More and more men, especially in the metro cities are buying and wearing jewellery as daily accessories. Given the young demographic which is shopping far later looks online and increasing choice online - we estimate that Fashion category will see 400% growth in the next 3 years and rival, electronics and mobile category in GMV.
GG: Absolutely! Currently, the online jewellery segment is in nascent stage, however it is poised to register fast growth with increasing number of online buyers in India. According to ETRetail, online sale of costume jewellery is set to take off, to grow to Rs. 4,200 crore with in a year. The market size for costume jewellery is currently pegged of Rs. 8,000 crore, of which online contributes nearly Rs. 180 crore. India has surpassed the United States to become the third-largest men's luxury jewellery market in the world this year, according to business research. IAMAI study reported that jewellery had attracted more clicks than any other categories in the past few months, implying growing consumer interest. The fashion jewellery segment is set to grow quickly in the tier-2 ond 3 cities where accessibility has been a constraint. Fashion category has grown four fold since last year. We are completely stoked about expanding more and more products onsite and will continue building our business model in this key product area.
GG: Having been raised in a family which started their own business roots in the Gems & Jewellery trade and have been in this business for over 40 years, gave me the inspiration of taking our family business forward by venturing into the online space with jewellery as key product category. India is a huge market opportunity and it simply mode good business sense to create an online marketplace model of our business catering specifically to the jewellery segment, comprising both fashion and precious jewellery products. The term 'Joharee' implies the 'jeweller' in India, and thus, we conceived our site domain to be Johareez.com, with the tag line 'India's Online Jewellers & fashion lifestyle marketplace'.
GG: Johareez.com is a one stop online shopping destination for jewellery & fashion accessory lovers where we offer our customers the opportunity to purchase almost every kind of fashion jewellery & lifestyle product they wish to add to their fashion wardrobe. We are the only jewellery specific product category online player, which currently offers over 25,000+ product listings onsite in both the Fixed Price selling format & we are the only marketplace offering product listings to be won through real time Live Auctions environment as well, with products starting at Re. 1, with no reserve. This gives exciting opportunities for our shoppers to actually bid on jewellery they wish to win and add to their fashion wardrobes. Secondly, right pricing is key! Jewellery price range available on Johareez is between Rs. 99 to Rs. 50,000+, so we are catering to practically every consumer segment PAN India.
GG: The celebrity's likability quotient is high with Johareez. We are extremely proud to have attached a rising Bollywood actor, Prashantt Guptha, with us who has endorsed his very own line of men's jewellery connecting to his creative and aesthetic side. Choosing Prashantt to endorse our brand has much to do with his rising popularity in Rajasthan, as he is a native of this state. His line of tungsten rings, stainless steel jewellery, along with men's precious silver diamond rings have been very popular sellers on Johareez.com. Fad for fashion jewellery which is generally motivated from bollywood and daily soap operas will add more demand in coming years.
GG: Given the popular demand we've had with the diverse range of men's jewellery and accessories we've added onsite, we encourage men to go for the unique line of tungsten, silver diamond rings collection along with sterling silver adjustable thread bands currently available onsite. We at Johareez continue to work with our partner sellers in bringing onboard light weight gold jewellery which is also preferred by men along with neck chains, bracelets, and rugged cuffs as seen in stores which are uniquely styled.
Source: Exhibit January 2016
Published December 7, 2015
After three releases in the last two years, Issaq, Identity Card and 6-5=2, actor Prashantt Guptha is a busy man. With three more films in his kitty, the actor is looking forward to making his mark on the marquee this year. The actor is also the brand face of the men's watches and jewellery collection called Johareez.com.
First on his list is 19th January, a Sanjay Amar film set in 1990 Kashmir, the story of the feud between Kashmiri Pundits and Muslims through the perspective of one family. Prashantt essays the role of a present day NIA Officer (National Investigation Authority) interrogating the tragedy through a young boy from that family who has now grown up to be a famous rockstar. The character's depth and the way the situation has been portrayed by the director captured Prashantt's heart. "19th January has started traveling the global film festivals. It was recently screened in San Francisco at the Festival of Globe - Silicon Valley and incidentally, will be screening on 19th January 2016 at The Rajasthan International Film Festival."
Next is Irada with Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi follows. Shooting commences in December and this film sees Prashanttessaying a role that is much older than himself. "I'll be working with THE acting ICON Naseeruddin Shah, and Arshad Warsi. The subject and the character excited me, but the thought of working with Naseer saab is beyond any feeling" reveals Prashantt.
Prashantt Guptha seems to be a true Rajasthani at heart. For, every time he achieves success, there seems to be something connecting him to his home and hearth. After Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF) and now Rajasthan-based Johareez.com, Prashantt is elated about this home-connect that seems to be constantly evolving itself. "You can say, total connect. Rajasthan is my native state," says Prashantt with pride. "Rohit chose me because of this connect. He found my looks apt for a royal prince, and last year RIFF bestowed upon me The Pride of Rajasthan Award. I guess it's just my state and its people showing their love and support by granting me honours and opportunities. Likewise goes for johareez.com ... a superb online jewellery and watch portal with its HQ in Rajasthan, which has me as the face of its men's collection. I just finished shooting this campaign and it felt great wearing men's jewellery that is very trendy and stylish. And obviously since this campaign again brought me closer to my roots."
What next? "What is in store will reveal itself with time," he grins, quoting Robert De Niro as a parting shot... 'One of the things about acting is that it allows you to live other people's lives without having to pay the price they may have'. Do I really need to ask for anything more?"
Source: The Hans India December 7, 2015
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/2015-12-07/Two-films-and-much-more-in-the-kitty-for-actor-Prashantt-Guptha-191650
Published December 01, 2015
Prashantt Guptha is a unique character on the Bollywood stage. Born of Indian-American parents, he grew up in New York City, but decided to return to his motherland to make his acting dreams a reality as a young adult, against the odds, with zero contacts in Mumbai. Many Indian kids grow up wanting to be a Bollywood actor one day; Prashantt actually went for it.
I had a chance to meet him in 2012 at Sun 'N Sand in Juhu Beach for a highly entertaining and free-wheeling chat about his experiences and about Bollywood in general. One of the themes of that interview was the challenges that Prashantt had to overcome as a young actor paying his dues. Since that time, his career has been on a successful upward trajectory worthy of an update for all of you film buffs out there.
Prashantt has also branched out beyond just acting in movies. He has become a cultural ambassador of sorts by helping kickstart a film festival partnership between Silicon Valley and his ancestral home of Jaipur. Upon becoming the Indian Ambassador of The Festival of Globe - Silicon Valley (FOGSV), he conceived the idea of creating an alliance between this international platform and a budding film festival in Jaipur called The Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF), where he last year won an award called The Pride of Rajasthan. "Basically, it is my innate nature to bring people together, build teams, walk miles and reach milestones together. None of us is as strong as all of us, and I believe good business is when everybody benefits. I initiated this alliance because it made perfect sense, considering the desi-diaspora in The Bay Area, an age-old connection between Jaipur and Fremont, wanting my native state of Rajasthan to shine overseas, and most certainly, to further enhance the brand and mission of FOGSV in Rajasthan and all-over India."
Prashantt has entered the world of high fashion with several funky advertising campaigns, while endorsing a jewelry portal based in Jaipur, called johareez.com. He was the main model for ace designer Rohit Verma's Jodha-Akbar collection too. He has also won awards and recognition for breaking interesting and new ground in the Indian cinema industry.
Since we last met, Prashantt played the villain in Issaq, a Bollywood forbidden love story which released in 2013. Issaq is a Hindi adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, set in Varanasi with modern-day urban gangsters, Naxalite rebels, and a Count-Paris type bad guy played by Prashantt. The role in Issaq was obtained after several years of time which Prashantt described as a "struggling gap" when it was difficult for him to find work.
2014 marked a further rise in Prashantt's career, with the release of Identity Card and the remake of a Kannada film 6-5=2, both of which he played a principal role. Identity Card was critically acclaimed and featured him alongside actors Saurabh Shukla, Raghubir Yadav, and some other solid actors set in Kashmir. For this role, Prashantt won an award at a film festival in San Francisco. Meanwhile, 6-5=2 is a remake of a Kannada hit into Hindi, where Prashantt landed a lead role. Like his previous film Kaalo, this was a supernatural horror film, still a rarity in Indian cinema of any language to this day.
Love, villainy, forest horror stories, desert witch horror stories, gangsters, and political intrigue: it seems that Prashantt has not shied away from a wide variety of films and roles. The next film to come out, 19th January, is currently in post-production and touches on the difficult topic of genocide between warring religious communities in Kashmir during the year 1990. If you know me then you are undoubtedly aware I am looking forward to the release of that one. Furthermore, Prashantt is now a part of a major studio film, the details of which he cannot divulge as per company mandate. He is currently prepping for his next film Irada, alongside one of the greatest actors in the world, Naseeruddin Shah.
Prashantt has come a long way. His New York roots served him well as a go-getter, but that's often not good enough if you arrive in Mumbai without a relative who directs or produces movies. He remained focused on taking care of his body, relentlessly following up on leads for parts, and keeping up his acting chops. In the last few years, that seems to be paying off as Prashantt is knocking on the door of stardom. His story proves to us that anything is possible and he has remained a friend to usindiamonitor as well. You can learn more about Prashantt at his website, http://www.prashanttguptha.com
Source: Mahanth S. Joishy is Editor of usindiamonitor
http://usindiamonitor.com/2015/12/01/a-bollywood-star-rises-profile-of-prashantt-guptha/
Published October 30, 2015
Fremont, CA: Prashantt Guptha, New York born Indian Ambassador of the Festival of Globe-Silicon Valley, continues to make strong strides as an actor in Bollywood.
After a great run last two years with Issaq, the critically acclaimed Identity Card, a Kannada film and a few commercials, along with winning the Pride of Rajasthan Award in Jaipur, Prashantt has now signed to play a pivotal role in 'Neerja', starring Sonam Kapoor. Produced by Fox Star Studios, it is the story about the actual hijack of a Pan Am aircraft en-route New York in the 1980s.
Prashantt is also playing a pivotal role in upcoming film 'Irada' alongside Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi.
Prashantt's journey in Mumbai began with a stint in two films: Rajshri's Ek Vivah Aisa bhi and a Horror film called Kaalo. His next break came three years later as the villain in Issaq. A year later he bagged the role of yet another cop in Rahat Kazami's Identity Card, which ended up becoming a critically acclaimed film and also fetched Prashantt the award for best supporting actor at The San Francisco Global Movie Fest. In 2014 he started to rise at a mother pace with the horror film 6-5=2, which was a remake of kannada film of the same name. Prashantt also shot for his first big commercial in Mumbai, All About Cotton.
In 2015, Prashantt Guptha won the first Pride of Rajasthan award at the Rajasthan International Film Festival and has finished shooting a film called 19th January with Deepti Naval. Prashantt is also brand ambassador of an online jewellery portal, Johareez.com
India Post October 30, 2015 e-paper
http://issuu.com/indiapost/docs/indiapost_10-30-2015_e-paper
