As Tier II cities go, Nagpur is a fascinating mix of the traditional and the modern. And this merging is very much apparent in the jewellery trade here. On one hand, there is the strong tradition of the ‘family jeweller’, on the other there are corporates like Tanishq who have made the city an important part of their expansion plans. Even as traditional Maharashtrian jewellery is very popular here, the modern design aesthetic is gradually gaining ground too. The market distribution also is a blend: the eastern part has the old markets – the eponymous itwarisarafa bazaar; while the western part has DharamPeth – the newer, more developed area.%% “Nagpur city itself is not densely populated; however, being centrally located, it services the Vidarbha region, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and the nearby smaller towns and villages. The city has more than 800 retailers both big and small,however, the manufacturing activity is not very strong here,” explains {{Pradeep Kothari}} of {{Karan Kothari Jewellers}}.%% The city has a population of around 4.5 million, and the jewellery-buying populace comprises mostly the mid-level spenders. Apparently, the big spending on heavy jewellery takes in the bigger cities that are close by – mainly, Mumbai and Pune. Clearly, this is one area where being centrally located has become a disadvantage for the Nagpur jeweller, because people can travel very easily to the nearby larger centers for jewellery. Trust in the family jeweller remains very strong though, as {{Kishore Sheth}} of {{Batukbhai and Sons Jewellers}} says, “We have clients who will purchase the jewellery as is – without too many questions. And of course hallmarking and certification is something that they will not even dream of asking us about – their trust in the generations-old family jewelleris so strong.” %% {{Ashok Vastani}} of {{Dass Jewellers}} agrees, saying, “I call this the goodwill encashment – most of our customers have been buying only from us – for them it is enough to just like the design. And for that reason, there is not too much scope for branded jewellery here.”%% Having said that, the customer who places so much faith in the family jeweller, is still very savvy, very knowledgeable and very fussy about both quality and design. As Vastani puts it, “We have to constantly keep our inventory updated with the latest designs. Though both contemporary and traditional designs do well here, the quality of manufacturing is something that the customer will not compromise upon. She will not spend money easily, and when she buys she will buy only the best. Also, we notice that schemes and discounts don’t work with the Nagpur customer – she is much too intelligent to be taken in by those!”%%

Seth agrees wholeheartedly, “The customer here has access to the latest designs because of the proximity of Mumbai and also the increased use of internet. So, we are kept on our toes, and have to offer a variety of jewellery. The customer is open to all sorts of designs, which is a good thing for us too.”%% Kothari feels that the customer prefers micro-setting over handmade jewellery. “Being quality conscious, the customer also looks for finesse and precision in jewellery manufacture. She will always go for the highest possible karatage of gold in jewellery. Technology has played an important part in the change in customer preferences to machine made jewellery. Though conventional designs do well – traditional Maharastrian jewellery is evergreen – we are seeing a gradual veering towards designer jewellery also,” he explains.%% As far as the designs and price points go, the Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2.5 lakh price range does well, but the maximum sales are for the lower end of this range. “Solitaires and platinum are also doing quite well here, and we have also seen an increase in the purchase of CZ jewellery,” says Vastani.%% The festive and wedding season brings with it its own buying, butVastani feels that jewellers are kept busy the whole year round. “Festive season generally brings with it bullion buying” he says.%% Kothari however believes that “muhurat-based” purchasing is very high. “People buy throughout the lagan sarai season – which is from March to July – and then of course there is Diwali. Auspicious occasions like Guru Pushya and AkshayaTritiya show some really good sales,” he elaborates.%% Seth opines that the sales are “in proportion to the population of the city”. Like the rest of the country, Nagpur too has been affected by price volatility, and both customers and retailers are dealing with it as best as they can. “We have reconciled to the increase – when the prices were high, we had decreased our intake,” says Vastani, who feels that the media plays a very important role in ensuring that the customer gets accurate information about projected price rise. “If the media reports that prices are going to rise just before an auspicious day for purchasing, the customer is bound to get confused,” he explains. %% Seth is naturally concerned about the price rise. “The volatility confuses the customer and that makes selling difficult for us,” he says. “The customer wants to wait for the price to reach an optimum level, and since that never happens, committing to a purchase becomes difficult for the customer.”%% “Volatility leads to speculation, but the customer especially that from the rural areas will buy when she has to. The volumes obviously decrease substantially,” affirms Kothari.%%

While the city is seeing the same sort of growth as the rest of the country, retailers believe that a couple of roadblocks if removed would really pave the way for much better trade. Vastani elaborates, “One major issue that we face is the one per centoctroi – this increases our prices, and is a potential deterrent to sales. We have been striving for long to get this octroi removed or at least reduced to 0.1 per cent – once that happens, the trade is bound to do much better. Another problem is the lack of a hallmarking center in this region.”%% Kothari adds, “Despite the obstacles, we are hopeful for growth. But there has to be some more hard work – the range of designs we offer the customers, our marketing efforts and the advertising spend in particular are areas where retailers should invest in well. We also need to take advantage of initiatives from the World Gold Council and the DTC and give people excuses and opportunities to buy!”%% Vastani also feels that the growth of the trade will be largely dependent on the rates of precious metals and gemstones.%% Shethstates, ”The growth of Nagpur’s jewellery trade will depend more or less on the overall growth across India. However, we are facing stiff competition from other white goods – people prefer spending on ipads, mobiles, foreign holidays, cars and so on. This is where jewellery trade is at a disadvantage, and this issue needs to be addressed urgently.”%% Proposed IT parks and a new cargo centreand airport, MIHAN, are on the way though – and riding on the back of these propellants for progress, Nagpur city hopefully will soon become an important centre on the jewellery trade map of India.%%

As Tier II cities go, Nagpur is a fascinating mix of the traditional and the modern. And this merging is very much apparent in the jewellery trade here. On one hand, there is the strong tradition of the ‘family jeweller’, on the other there are corporates like Tanishq who have made the city an important part of their expansion plans. Even as traditional Maharashtrian jewellery is very popular here, the modern design aesthetic is gradually gaining ground too. The market distribution also is a blend: the eastern part has the old markets – the eponymous itwarisarafa bazaar; while the western part has DharamPeth – the newer, more developed area.%% “Nagpur city itself is not densely populated; however, being centrally located, it services the Vidarbha region, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and the nearby smaller towns and villages. The city has more than 800 retailers both big and small,however, the manufacturing activity is not very strong here,” explains {{Pradeep Kothari}} of {{Karan Kothari Jewellers}}.%% The city has a population of around 4.5 million, and the jewellery-buying populace comprises mostly the mid-level spenders. Apparently, the big spending on heavy jewellery takes in the bigger cities that are close by – mainly, Mumbai and Pune. Clearly, this is one area where being centrally located has become a disadvantage for the Nagpur jeweller, because people can travel very easily to the nearby larger centers for jewellery. Trust in the family jeweller remains very strong though, as {{Kishore Sheth}} of {{Batukbhai and Sons Jewellers}} says, “We have clients who will purchase the jewellery as is – without too many questions. And of course hallmarking and certification is something that they will not even dream of asking us about – their trust in the generations-old family jewelleris so strong.” %% {{Ashok Vastani}} of {{Dass Jewellers}} agrees, saying, “I call this the goodwill encashment – most of our customers have been buying only from us – for them it is enough to just like the design. And for that reason, there is not too much scope for branded jewellery here.”%% Having said that, the customer who places so much faith in the family jeweller, is still very savvy, very knowledgeable and very fussy about both quality and design. As Vastani puts it, “We have to constantly keep our inventory updated with the latest designs. Though both contemporary and traditional designs do well here, the quality of manufacturing is something that the customer will not compromise upon. She will not spend money easily, and when she buys she will buy only the best. Also, we notice that schemes and discounts don’t work with the Nagpur customer – she is much too intelligent to be taken in by those!”%%

Seth agrees wholeheartedly, “The customer here has access to the latest designs because of the proximity of Mumbai and also the increased use of internet. So, we are kept on our toes, and have to offer a variety of jewellery. The customer is open to all sorts of designs, which is a good thing for us too.”%% Kothari feels that the customer prefers micro-setting over handmade jewellery. “Being quality conscious, the customer also looks for finesse and precision in jewellery manufacture. She will always go for the highest possible karatage of gold in jewellery. Technology has played an important part in the change in customer preferences to machine made jewellery. Though conventional designs do well – traditional Maharastrian jewellery is evergreen – we are seeing a gradual veering towards designer jewellery also,” he explains.%% As far as the designs and price points go, the Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2.5 lakh price range does well, but the maximum sales are for the lower end of this range. “Solitaires and platinum are also doing quite well here, and we have also seen an increase in the purchase of CZ jewellery,” says Vastani.%% The festive and wedding season brings with it its own buying, butVastani feels that jewellers are kept busy the whole year round. “Festive season generally brings with it bullion buying” he says.%% Kothari however believes that “muhurat-based” purchasing is very high. “People buy throughout the lagan sarai season – which is from March to July – and then of course there is Diwali. Auspicious occasions like Guru Pushya and AkshayaTritiya show some really good sales,” he elaborates.%% Seth opines that the sales are “in proportion to the population of the city”. Like the rest of the country, Nagpur too has been affected by price volatility, and both customers and retailers are dealing with it as best as they can. “We have reconciled to the increase – when the prices were high, we had decreased our intake,” says Vastani, who feels that the media plays a very important role in ensuring that the customer gets accurate information about projected price rise. “If the media reports that prices are going to rise just before an auspicious day for purchasing, the customer is bound to get confused,” he explains. %% Seth is naturally concerned about the price rise. “The volatility confuses the customer and that makes selling difficult for us,” he says. “The customer wants to wait for the price to reach an optimum level, and since that never happens, committing to a purchase becomes difficult for the customer.”%% “Volatility leads to speculation, but the customer especially that from the rural areas will buy when she has to. The volumes obviously decrease substantially,” affirms Kothari.%%

While the city is seeing the same sort of growth as the rest of the country, retailers believe that a couple of roadblocks if removed would really pave the way for much better trade. Vastani elaborates, “One major issue that we face is the one per centoctroi – this increases our prices, and is a potential deterrent to sales. We have been striving for long to get this octroi removed or at least reduced to 0.1 per cent – once that happens, the trade is bound to do much better. Another problem is the lack of a hallmarking center in this region.”%% Kothari adds, “Despite the obstacles, we are hopeful for growth. But there has to be some more hard work – the range of designs we offer the customers, our marketing efforts and the advertising spend in particular are areas where retailers should invest in well. We also need to take advantage of initiatives from the World Gold Council and the DTC and give people excuses and opportunities to buy!”%% Vastani also feels that the growth of the trade will be largely dependent on the rates of precious metals and gemstones.%% Shethstates, ”The growth of Nagpur’s jewellery trade will depend more or less on the overall growth across India. However, we are facing stiff competition from other white goods – people prefer spending on ipads, mobiles, foreign holidays, cars and so on. This is where jewellery trade is at a disadvantage, and this issue needs to be addressed urgently.”%% Proposed IT parks and a new cargo centreand airport, MIHAN, are on the way though – and riding on the back of these propellants for progress, Nagpur city hopefully will soon become an important centre on the jewellery trade map of India.%%

As Tier II cities go, Nagpur is a fascinating mix of the traditional and the modern. And this merging is very much apparent in the jewellery trade here. On one hand, there is the strong tradition of the ‘family jeweller’, on the other there are corporates like Tanishq who have made the city an important part of their expansion plans. Even as traditional Maharashtrian jewellery is very popular here, the modern design aesthetic is gradually gaining ground too. The market distribution also is a blend: the eastern part has the old markets – the eponymous itwarisarafa bazaar; while the western part has DharamPeth – the newer, more developed area.%% “Nagpur city itself is not densely populated; however, being centrally located, it services the Vidarbha region, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and the nearby smaller towns and villages. The city has more than 800 retailers both big and small,however, the manufacturing activity is not very strong here,” explains {{Pradeep Kothari}} of {{Karan Kothari Jewellers}}.%% The city has a population of around 4.5 million, and the jewellery-buying populace comprises mostly the mid-level spenders. Apparently, the big spending on heavy jewellery takes in the bigger cities that are close by – mainly, Mumbai and Pune. Clearly, this is one area where being centrally located has become a disadvantage for the Nagpur jeweller, because people can travel very easily to the nearby larger centers for jewellery. Trust in the family jeweller remains very strong though, as {{Kishore Sheth}} of {{Batukbhai and Sons Jewellers}} says, “We have clients who will purchase the jewellery as is – without too many questions. And of course hallmarking and certification is something that they will not even dream of asking us about – their trust in the generations-old family jewelleris so strong.” %% {{Ashok Vastani}} of {{Dass Jewellers}} agrees, saying, “I call this the goodwill encashment – most of our customers have been buying only from us – for them it is enough to just like the design. And for that reason, there is not too much scope for branded jewellery here.”%% Having said that, the customer who places so much faith in the family jeweller, is still very savvy, very knowledgeable and very fussy about both quality and design. As Vastani puts it, “We have to constantly keep our inventory updated with the latest designs. Though both contemporary and traditional designs do well here, the quality of manufacturing is something that the customer will not compromise upon. She will not spend money easily, and when she buys she will buy only the best. Also, we notice that schemes and discounts don’t work with the Nagpur customer – she is much too intelligent to be taken in by those!”%%

Seth agrees wholeheartedly, “The customer here has access to the latest designs because of the proximity of Mumbai and also the increased use of internet. So, we are kept on our toes, and have to offer a variety of jewellery. The customer is open to all sorts of designs, which is a good thing for us too.”%% Kothari feels that the customer prefers micro-setting over handmade jewellery. “Being quality conscious, the customer also looks for finesse and precision in jewellery manufacture. She will always go for the highest possible karatage of gold in jewellery. Technology has played an important part in the change in customer preferences to machine made jewellery. Though conventional designs do well – traditional Maharastrian jewellery is evergreen – we are seeing a gradual veering towards designer jewellery also,” he explains.%% As far as the designs and price points go, the Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2.5 lakh price range does well, but the maximum sales are for the lower end of this range. “Solitaires and platinum are also doing quite well here, and we have also seen an increase in the purchase of CZ jewellery,” says Vastani.%% The festive and wedding season brings with it its own buying, butVastani feels that jewellers are kept busy the whole year round. “Festive season generally brings with it bullion buying” he says.%% Kothari however believes that “muhurat-based” purchasing is very high. “People buy throughout the lagan sarai season – which is from March to July – and then of course there is Diwali. Auspicious occasions like Guru Pushya and AkshayaTritiya show some really good sales,” he elaborates.%% Seth opines that the sales are “in proportion to the population of the city”. Like the rest of the country, Nagpur too has been affected by price volatility, and both customers and retailers are dealing with it as best as they can. “We have reconciled to the increase – when the prices were high, we had decreased our intake,” says Vastani, who feels that the media plays a very important role in ensuring that the customer gets accurate information about projected price rise. “If the media reports that prices are going to rise just before an auspicious day for purchasing, the customer is bound to get confused,” he explains. %% Seth is naturally concerned about the price rise. “The volatility confuses the customer and that makes selling difficult for us,” he says. “The customer wants to wait for the price to reach an optimum level, and since that never happens, committing to a purchase becomes difficult for the customer.”%% “Volatility leads to speculation, but the customer especially that from the rural areas will buy when she has to. The volumes obviously decrease substantially,” affirms Kothari.%%

While the city is seeing the same sort of growth as the rest of the country, retailers believe that a couple of roadblocks if removed would really pave the way for much better trade. Vastani elaborates, “One major issue that we face is the one per centoctroi – this increases our prices, and is a potential deterrent to sales. We have been striving for long to get this octroi removed or at least reduced to 0.1 per cent – once that happens, the trade is bound to do much better. Another problem is the lack of a hallmarking center in this region.”%% Kothari adds, “Despite the obstacles, we are hopeful for growth. But there has to be some more hard work – the range of designs we offer the customers, our marketing efforts and the advertising spend in particular are areas where retailers should invest in well. We also need to take advantage of initiatives from the World Gold Council and the DTC and give people excuses and opportunities to buy!”%% Vastani also feels that the growth of the trade will be largely dependent on the rates of precious metals and gemstones.%% Shethstates, ”The growth of Nagpur’s jewellery trade will depend more or less on the overall growth across India. However, we are facing stiff competition from other white goods – people prefer spending on ipads, mobiles, foreign holidays, cars and so on. This is where jewellery trade is at a disadvantage, and this issue needs to be addressed urgently.”%% Proposed IT parks and a new cargo centreand airport, MIHAN, are on the way though – and riding on the back of these propellants for progress, Nagpur city hopefully will soon become an important centre on the jewellery trade map of India.%%