Candere Bets on Smriti Mandhana for Everyday Jewellery Sales

Candere named India batter Smriti Mandhana a brand ambassador on June 27, 2026, placing her beside Shah Rukh Khan. The Kalyan Jewellers lifestyle label wants her to sell pieces women wear on a workday, not only to a wedding hall.

Khan has fronted Candere since May 20, 2025, with ads about love, memory and gifts. Mandhana’s brief is narrower, and harder. She is there for the woman who already walks in with her own money.

Mandhana Steps Beside Shah Rukh Khan at Candere

Ramesh Kalyanaraman, director of Candere, said Mandhana’s pull “extends far beyond the cricket field” and that she “represents a generation that values ambition, authenticity and confidence.” He said the brand was glad to welcome her “as the face of Candere alongside Shahrukh Khan,” arguing that the two faces “reflect the diversity of today’s India.”

Candere’s own welcome film put that pairing on a public clock the same weekend, with a line about history on the pitch and a promise to “stay tuned.” The company said the deal fits a push to treat jewellery as daily dress rather than a locker item, and that campaigns would run across digital, stores and social channels.

For me, jewellery isn’t something that’s reserved for special occasions; it’s something I wear every day. It’s a part of my personal style and often the finishing touch that makes me feel like myself.

Smriti Mandhana, Candere brand ambassador

That sentence is the brief. Khan can still sell a gift. Mandhana is being asked to sell a habit.

The Customer the Film Star Does Not Reach

When Khan joined, Kalyanaraman said Candere was built for buyers who are “Gen Z at heart: expressive, individualistic, and digitally engaged.” Khan, he added, “bridges generations.” The actor’s own line was about jewellery as “a powerful expression of love, memories, and identity,” and about how people “wear and gift jewellery today.”

Gifting still needs a superstar. Repeat buying needs someone who looks like the customer. Outside weddings, the 64 percent of non-wedding diamond jewellery sold in India is already bought by women for themselves, according to the 2025 Diamond Acquisition Study from De Beers Group. The same study found India held 12 percent of global demand for natural diamond jewellery, with the domestic market at Rs 497 billion.

WHAT THE 2025 DE BEERS STUDY FOUND

• Daily wear: 52 percent of acquired diamond jewellery is now worn every day, against 27 percent in 2014, when 56 percent of pieces were saved for special days.
• Youth share: Buyers aged 18 to 28 account for 51 percent of market value, and with millennials the two groups hold 86 percent.
• Ticket size: The average spend per piece is Rs 1.98 lakh, the highest of any age group in the study.
• Who pays: The addressable pool is put at 67 million women across tier-1 to tier-5 cities.

The BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2026 report found 42 percent of women buying more jewellery for themselves than a few years earlier. Toranj Mehta, country head for category marketing at De Beers India, has described the result as a personal diamond wardrobe rather than one hero piece left in a locker. That is the shopper Khan’s romance ads do not have to convince, and the shopper Candere still has to convert at the counter.

Kalyan Puts Rs 350 Crore Into a Loss-Making Brand

Mandhana arrived at the end of a quarter in which Candere was already running hot. Kalyan Jewellers said in its Q1 FY27 business update that the digital-first jewellery platform recorded revenue growth of about 112% against the same period a year earlier. Group revenue from sale of goods, excluding bullion, was up about 38 percent, and India same-store sales grew about 28 percent, even with a 28-day Adhik Maas sitting inside the quarter.

She cannot be credited for that jump. The appointment landed on June 27, three days before the quarter closed on June 30, 2026. The 112 percent is the runway, not the result of the campaign.

CANDERE’S BOOKS, FY24 TO FY26

An exchange filing in September 2026 showed turnover rising from Rs 163.8 crore in FY25 to Rs 425.36 crore in FY26, about 2.6 times the prior year, while the brand still posted a loss after tax of Rs 12.77 crore and a net worth of negative Rs 32.51 crore as of March 31, 2026. Kalyan’s own year-end presentation listed the same business at Rs 4,253 million in FY26 revenue, with 124 Candere showrooms at March-end, 70 of them franchisee-owned.

On September 21, 2026, Kalyan told exchanges it had put Rs 350 crore into Candere Lifestyle Jewellery through a rights issue, with the entire sum meant to repay loans the parent had earlier extended. Candere stays a 100 percent subsidiary. The money is a balance-sheet repair, not a victory lap, and it arrived three months after Mandhana’s signing, with the festive season already on the calendar.

Why Everyday Jewellery Needs a Cricketer

A film star can make a necklace feel like a gift. A batter who talks about hoops on a normal day can make the same necklace feel like clothes. Kalyanaraman, speaking in September 2026 as executive director at Candere, said young buyers were no longer shopping only for milestone occasions and were “looking for pieces that can become part of their regular wardrobes.” He said an understated piece of fine jewellery can sit beside something bolder, so the wearer can “dial the drama up or down.”

Women’s cricket gave that pitch a face with mass reach. Mandhana became the first woman to cross 11,000 international runs during the Asian Games final in September 2026, and her Instagram following rose from 12.6 million in October 2025 to 15.4 million, a gain of 2.8 million, or 22.2 percent. Her management has put a typical endorsement fee around Rs 2 crore to Rs 2.5 crore per brand.

Smriti today has moved beyond being just a cricketer. She is a mainstream celebrity athlete.

Abhishek Sharma, managing partner, INT Sports & Gaming Marketing

Jewellery brands have noticed the same shift in different ways. Malabar Gold & Diamonds named M.S. Dhoni an ambassador in July 2026 on a “responsible jeweller” line, a classic cricket-and-trust play. Candere is doing something else. It wants a woman who already treats jewellery as finishing, not as heirloom storage.

Mandhana Already Sells Watches, Denim and Phones

Candere is one slice of a commercial year in which Mandhana has been used to sell ordinary objects, not only sports drinks. The jewellery deal sits inside that stack, which is why the brand can argue she already lives in the same wardrobe as its product.

HER 2026 LIFESTYLE DEALS

• Barbie Dream Team: A licensing deal dated March 2026, a mass toy line using her as a global face.
• ONE8: Agilitas named her a brand ambassador on April 13, 2026, for India’s first high-performance sportswear line built by the company.
• Rado: The Swiss watchmaker named her a Friend of the Brand on April 15, 2026, a luxury-hardware bet on women’s cricket.
• ONLY India: An Autumn 2026 denim campaign dated September 3, 2026, putting her in everyday clothes rather than team kit.
• OnePlus: She fronted the third MakeItSpecial Diwali film, released September 30, 2026, ahead of festive discounts from October 8.

By mid-July, Candere was already promoting a contemporary diamond collection framed around Mandhana’s style, which is a faster move than a press note followed by silence. A launch film starring her as the endorser was circulating by late August. The brand treated the signing as product language, not only as a photograph with a trophy.

A jewellery house can still miss the woman who wants a pair of everyday hoops. Ticket size and repeat visits will decide whether the film worked. The announcement photo will not.

A Digital Jeweller With 129 Indian Stores

Candere began as a website and is now a store chain that still talks like a website. Kalyan said it opened 5 Candere showrooms in India in Q1 FY27, taking the count to 129 as of June 30, 2026, inside a group network of 524 showrooms (354 Kalyan stores in India, 38 in the Middle East, 2 in the United States, 1 in the United Kingdom, and 129 Candere). The June press material that rounded the chain above 130 was ahead of the company’s own count.

HOW CANDERE GOT HERE

1. 2010: Incorporates as Enovate Information Technologies, later renamed Enovate Lifestyles in 2012, the year the Candere site went live under founders Rupesh Jain and Ashish Bajaj.
2. 2017: Kalyan Jewellers takes a majority stake and folds the site into the group.
3. June 3, 2024: Kalyan agrees to the remaining 15 percent of Candere for Rs 42 crore, making it a wholly owned subsidiary as it shifts from pure e-commerce to stores plus a site.
4. August 2025: The company is renamed Candere Lifestyle Jewellery.
5. May 20, 2025: Names Shah Rukh Khan brand ambassador and talks about identity, gifting and a “Love is Light” film.
6. June 27, 2026: Names Smriti Mandhana a brand ambassador beside Khan.
7. June 30, 2026: Counts 129 Candere stores after a quarter of about 112 percent revenue growth.
8. September 21, 2026: Infuses Rs 350 crore through a rights issue to repay parent loans.

Kalyanaraman has said a mature Candere store should turn stock at about 2 percent, with margins around 30 to 35 percent, in showrooms of about 1,500 square feet that skew about 70 percent studded. Those unit numbers, given on an earlier earnings call, are the operational bet underneath the celebrity one. Mandhana is the public face of a chain that has scaled stores faster than it has scaled profit.

The festive window will test both faces at once. Khan still sells the gift. Mandhana is being asked to sell the second visit. If the wardrobe pitch is right, the woman who already buys her own diamonds should recognise herself in the new ads. If it is not, Kalyan will have spent a year of star fees and Rs 350 crore of repair capital on a brand that can grow at 112 percent and still lose money.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Did Candere Appoint Smriti Mandhana as Brand Ambassador?

Candere announced the appointment on June 27, 2026, a Saturday, and said she would appear in campaigns across digital, retail and social channels. A diamond collection framed around her style was being promoted by mid-July, and a launch film starring her as endorser was circulating by late August.

Who Owns Candere by Kalyan Jewellers?

Candere is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kalyan Jewellers India Limited. The parent took a majority stake in 2017 and bought the last 15 percent on June 3, 2024, for Rs 42 crore; the legal entity, incorporated in 2010 as Enovate Information Technologies, was renamed Candere Lifestyle Jewellery in August 2025.

When Did Shah Rukh Khan Become a Candere Ambassador?

Candere named Khan on May 20, 2025, 13 months before Mandhana, and said he would appear across digital, television, print and in-store media. His first work sat under the line “Love is Light,” with jewellery framed as love, memory and identity rather than as daily kit.

What Share of Indian Diamond Jewellery Do Women Buy for Themselves?

Outside the wedding segment, 64 percent of natural diamond jewellery is self-purchased by women, per the 2025 De Beers Diamond Acquisition Study. Weddings still account for 29 percent of market value, and brides themselves contribute 79 percent of that wedding value, so even the bridal counter is no longer only a family purchase.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting and analysis of a brand appointment and of figures published by Kalyan Jewellers, Candere and De Beers Group. It is for information only and is not investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell Kalyan Jewellers shares, or guidance on jewellery as an asset. Readers who are considering any financial decision should consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser or a qualified financial planner. Revenue, store counts, losses and campaign status reflect the cited filings and statements as of the dates given and can change with later results.