Caratlane: How to Stay Relevant to a New Generation

CaratLane, founded in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti, had disrupted India’s jewellery market by targeting younger consumers with lightweight, affordable, and innovative everyday jewellery. Sacheti, coming from a family of jewellers, had identified a gap in the traditional jewellery stores market, which catered to older generations. Partnering with Avnish Anand, Sacheti carved out a new niche by combining artisanship with cutting-edge innovation.<br><br>In 2023, Titan Company Limited (Titan), a Tata Group company, acquired Sacheti’s stake, marking CaratLane’s transition to a fully owned Titan subsidiary. With Sacheti’s departure, Anand assumed leadership of the company and was tasked with growing it within the larger, matrixed Titan organization. Anand faced pressing challenges, including a declining consumption of gold, rising costs, and intense competition. He had to decide between doubling down on creativity through design-led innovations or pivoting toward the mass market and risk diluting the CaratLane brand. Staff retention added complexity, as competitors sought to poach CaratLane’s experienced staff. Should Anand prioritize continuity or embrace fresh ideas through younger hires? Last, he had to determine whether to maintain CaratLane’s offline–online sales channel mix or expand into India’s smaller cities and rural markets for growth opportunities.

This case is designed for executive training programs, as well as upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on strategy, marketing, and general management. Students should understand the basics of strategic management and marketing before analyzing this case.<br><br>After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to:<br><br><ul><li>Understand how CaratLane started the business with some differentiation and then built a few of its assets into core competences.</li><li>Use the Business Model Canvas to capture all the existing value drivers and recommend ones that could further enhance the company’s future competitive position.</li><li>Recommend growth strategies using the Ansoff Matrix framework.</li><li>Evaluate the jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework and understand its importance in the context of CaratLane’s business.</li><li>Understand how to build a strong and stable team.</li></ul>

• growth, branding, JTBD, Ansoff