Looking at the current market scenario and the changing demographics of the buyers, only CHANGE in the way Indian gems and jewellery industry conduct their business seem to be of help for the survival. So what are those crucial and important changes needed at this time? Is it the need to give importance to design elements in a product, need for quality over quantity, need to hire trained professionals, need for MRP similar to international jewellery brands, need for USP that would help the brand stand out, need for smart stock management especially in terms of old stock, need for online presence and social media or all? Most of the international retailers and few in India have already incorporated some or all of the changes in their working patter and are doing great. Owing to the influx of this new generation who is young, vibrant, smart, and competitive and full of new ideas, old ways might fall a little short in terms of selling. It is very important to know the changing patterns and work progressively towards them. Not to forget the equal weight-age given to the other many luxury items like mobile phones, travel etc in comparison to gold and diamonds. Great service and personal touch is what majorly works for this always on the go generation and there is absolute need to learn to speak their language. Keeping all of this in mind, Kunjal Karaniya and Kavita Parab spoke to few Indian jewellery retailers to know their opinions and suggestions. Let us know what their thoughts are over this much-needed change.

Need to give importance to design elements in a product

Over the decades, the primary focus of jewellery has moved from being an investment to ornamentation. The current government’s policy has been focused around discouraging investments in jewellery for investment purposes and would rather have people making investments in the financial sector. In such a scenario, design and appeal of product will become the primary focus from a consumer’s perspective, rightly puts Vijay Jain, CEO and Director – ORRA.

As we observe, the current trend we see in jewellery industry is that most of the jewellery pieces have usually been designed with a deep understanding of the buyer in mind. The jewellery industry is flooded with competitions, and the only thing that differentiates one jewellery brand from another is its design. Product Design describes how brand values and deep customer insights are translated into how a product looks, explains Siddhartha Sawansukha, Managing director, Sawansukha Jewellers.

Hence, it is crucial to give importance to design elements in a product especially now due to the competitive Market scenario, adds Ishu Datwani, Founder, ANMOL.

Talking about beautiful correlation between designs and selling stories, Rohan Narang, Managing Director, Hazoorilal Legacy says jewellery is a not just culmination of design but each element used in a particular jewellery is a magical creation in itself and therefore it is supremely special. So when you create a design, you are creating a story. When design is innovative, the story behind it is new, too. It will not only help you define your brand value but will also help you stand out in the crowd. Thus, design is not only the core but also the crucial element in jewellery.

Saurabh Gadgil, Director, IBJA and CMD of PNG Jewellers shares similar view, he says “Jewellery is all about emotions and personal satisfaction. For a wearer, the jewellery is an extension of her personality and what she would want to be seen as. It is an unique amalgamation of personal style and perceived value appraised by others. Hence as the society is becoming increasingly more individualistic and financially secure, design is becoming the key differentiating factor for profitability. Everyone loves a brand and a good brand for jewellery needs to be perceived as a design leader. They should lead by example of what a classy design evolution in the jewellery market should be like. Hence anyone who wants to not only survive but also create a great legacy and heritage in the jewellery industry needs to invest and promote design as the core differentiator in its product.”

Need for quality over quantity

A brand’s success and growth depends on the quality of its products, perfectly states Ishu Datwani.

In India brands need to move away from being commodity driven to being consumer driven. As the consumer moves away towards looking at jewellery for ornamentation for the purpose of occasions such as weddings, engagements etc., not only design but quality will also play an important role. In an industry where consumers are being charged labour on the weight of a product there is little incentive to reduce the weight, explains Vijay Jain. For example, if a bangle can be made in 30 gms, there is no incentive from a jeweller’s perspective to bring the weight down to 25 gms. Therefore, the focus would be on the quality of product.

In the long run, favouring quality over quantity will increase company’s reputation and consumer trust along with sustainability of the business. Siddhartha Sawansukha explains that the jewellery brand moves ahead based not on the easiest or the quickest way to create something, but the best way to create something. This line of thought is evident in every jewellery piece we make.

Quality and only quality would help you sustain in the long run, points out Rohan Narang. Instead of how much one has sold, what quality has been sold is more important as that would be give you repeat business. And, that’s how business grows. One may feel tempted to follow the herd and ignore quality but that would a put a question mark on your reputation and credibility. Today’s consumer is much wiser and believes strongly in transparency. So, if you want to win over these consumers then quality business would help you achieve it, adds Rohan Narang. “Quality is a direct reflection of the purchasing power of any customer. As India becomes increasingly richer and the world becomes a global village, today every customer who is willing to spend has at his disposal the best of the best in the world. In such an environment and era when communication and exposure is just a click away, every customer is more and more informed and aware. Hence their demand and expectations go up and they insist on better quality. This is what is today also being observed in the jewellery industry and this is the only way ahead for the market. Everyone wants the best possible within their space, so we have to ensure that we actually pass on the benefit to the customer where we try and give him the very best possible within his budget. This trust and benefit will be returned ten-fold by the customer in brand loyalty and direct marketing (they will never stop singing your praises to their friends and family), states Saurabh Gadgil.

Need to hire trained professionals

Until and unless, our company management is not strong enough to compete with other brands, how will the company grow as a whole? In today’s market scenario, trained professionals are given more priority as compared to new ones. In an increasingly competitive market, jewellery business cannot afford to take any extra load that doesn’t help them to move forward towards their success, strongly puts Siddhartha Sawansukha.

Consumer engagement is the key to making a sale today. If the customer cannot feel the connect towards the brand, the entire pitch will fall flat. In such a case, hiring as well as grooming team members is important. Vijay Jain highlights that the jewellery industry is such that many individuals with different backgrounds of experience are most welcome especially when it comes to the sales and marketing functions. Training teams should therefore look to integrate their past experience to the best. Supporting the thought of need for trained professional, Rohan Narang shared that of course we need professionally skilled people but along with that there is need for soft skills like communication, decision making, self-motivation, leadership skills. A person may get professional degree in marketing or sales but may not have required soft skills for the job and this need to be crosschecked. Hiring need not always depend on one’s professional skills.

Besides, jewellery business depends on trust factor. Therefore, we need people whom we can trust. Sometimes a person may not have professional degree but may have skills required for the job. In such cases, we need to trust our instinct and get the person on board, points out Rohan Narang.

Changing consumer dynamics has given rise to need for trained professional. He shares “A drastic change in the individual income, lifestyle and literacy rate has had a great impact on the purchasing trends of the customers. There is an increase in the awareness of the customers and expectations have risen in respect to products and services. This awareness makes the customers get into the specifics of the buying process.”

He shares further “To cater to these rising expectations of the customers, it is very important to hire the right kind of talent into the organisation. Customer satisfaction being the key to the organisations growth reflects the expectations and experiences that the customer has with the product and the service. Thus, it is imperative that the employee understands and meets these expectations. To achieve this, it is very important that the employee is well trained in aspects such as expertise in communication, Product know-how, appearance, conviction and selling while dealing with today’s customers. Not only hiring trained staff but enhancing their skills also should be a top driven activity and cascade down the organisation. Working on the skills and behaviours of the employees is the most crucial benefactor which sets you as an epitome in customer service excellence.”

“When we say behaviour it means that, the employee needs to be motivated for dispensing the best customer service experience to every walk-in customer, irrespective of the buying decision. It is also very important to have refresher training interventions, to keep the employees abreast of the current happenings and design trends in the market. This also has a very positive impact on the organisational dynamics,” Saurabh concludes.

Need for MRP similar to international jewellerybrands

“ORRA is already selling diamond jewellery on anb MRP basis. Our own experience is the consumer is more than willing to accept it,” shares Vijay Jain .The slow rate of change from commodity to MRP is largely a creation of the industry rather than the consumer.

“The consumers buy jewellery from international brand, reason being their respective brand value and quality they offer. In India, we do need this change for the reputed brands and their high quality products. If we do not compromise on the international quality and design of the jewellery, the pricing should also be competitive as compared to international brands,” strongly states Siddhartha Sawansukha.

Though there is resistance, we are gradually moving towards it, positively says Ishu Datwani

Talking of resistance, Rohan Narang added “At a traditional or family jewellery level, there would be resistance from buyers if MRP is followed. For today’s buyer who is well-travelled, well-read, who has been buying goods in international markets, won’t resist MRP. At the same time, if one tries to sell goods at MRP to older generation buyers, they would resist it. However, it’s not impossible. Mindset of the buyers need to change, which would gradually happen in the coming years.” 

Sharing his views on MRP, Saurabh Gadgil, Vice Chairman, IBJA and CMD PNG Jewellers says “Firstly, as we consolidate markets, only differentiator will be designs. Patenting of designs once introduced, only then MRP can be brought in. Secondly, as the new generation will start looking at things which will make them stand out then crowd, markets will pick up on designs.” “We are already moving slowly towards MRP via Online jewellery shopping,” he added further.

Need for USP that would help the brand stand out

First of all, a defined USP means that one can shape the market’s view of their company. That’s why it is a need to assist our buyers by making our USP noticeable and different enough that they can see exactly what are we offering as compared to other brands. USP can also benefit the business in terms of customer satisfaction. With so much choice out in the jewellery industry, verbalizing and defining what makes us different would greatly help buyers when choosing, perfectly explains Siddhartha Sawansukha.

Over a period of time, just like in the apparel business, people will associate different brands with their unique value proposition. E.g. A traditional brand, a contemporary brand, an Indian brand with heritage etc. This has already happened in the apparel space and will soon take place in the jewellery space as well, shares Vijay Jain.

“For us at Hazoorilal Legacy, the USP has always been ‘trust’ that the past generation as well as the present generation of buyers have in us. My grandfather, my father and now me, we have consistently made efforts to make this foundation of trust stronger with each passing day. In India, jewellery is about tradition, about personal connect and the buyer needs to feel the personal connect with you, your brand, your product,” points out Rohan Narang.

Talking of conscious and wellinformed buyers, Saurabh Gadgil shares “In coming times, every consumer will look at USP of the brand. There will be two USPs – 1. Designs and 2. Shopping Experience. Besides, it is important for brand recall in the clutter of so many new entrants and offers in the market.

Need for smart stock management especially in terms of old stock

This New Year is a good time for jewellers to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to play in the coming months. They should look at reviewing inventory with a sharp focus on the more accessible price points and designs as well as re-aligning their marketing spends with emphasis on the digital medium. The need of the hour would also be to look at possible rationalization of retail space with regards to stock, says Vijay Jain. It’s imperative to do smart stock management – the jeweller needs to know which stock will move where and need to send stocks accordingly. Not every design sells everywhere – so you need to know the market and send goods accordingly. Similarly stocks can be classified into fast moving, slow moving or things which do not move. Siddhartha Sawansukha further explains that the manufacturing needs to be in a way that there is no shortage of fast moving items which sells fast – similarly slow or non moving items need to be stocked in a way that they can lie idle and be sold when the trend is in fashion. The art of smart stock management is to stock goods in a way that it doesn’t stay idle for a longer period. Talking further on smart stock management, Rohan Narang added “The stock would become nonmoving or old when it has not been created keeping in line with the current demand. Generally, most of the jewellers create designs following the trend but that too could be problematic as jewellery trends keep changing. Instead, I would say create niche designs that are hard to miss and stand the test of time. It would be better to have few good remarkable designs than cluttering your store with heaps of rut designs.” “In case, you have old stock, one can always opt for discounting the non-moving stock to get it off the shelves,” he added. Jewellery industry has various dimension, a capital intense industry, with changing fashions and style and still persists heritage value. It is important that keeping in mind the changing mindset, tastes and preferences the stock are just right. Having said that, there would still be stock which goes out of fashion soon, thus stock rotation is critical, states Saurabh Gadgil. He further adds that though value of gold is not lost, there is a loss of making charges and stock carrying charge. Smart stock management is important for correct utilisation of finances, states Ishu Datwani.

Need for online presence and social media

In the digital era, it is very essential for any of the business to have an online presence. It plays an important role for outbound marketing as it reinforces the brand and products offered to the target market. Whether it’s a website, an e-commerce platform, a social media page or a combination of all three, getting the company online will bring in major benefits. Siddhartha Sawansukha explains that social media gives the brand a voice- it makes easier for them to build relationships with customers and potential customers. Brands can associate with each other and collaborate in a digital world for greater synergy. This would not have been possible even a few years back when social media was not all pervasive – now thanks to more brands ramping up their social media such campaign synergy is possible.

Consumers are constantly using different mediums to connect with the world, their friends and family. While word of mouth will never lose its significance, it is important to ensure seamless communication across  a variety of mediums. Vijay Jain explains further that an omni-channel presence will allow for brands to understand changing consumer sentiment as well as share key messages. This medium should definitely not be ignored as it is of key importance in creating an online-offline balance for movement of jewellery.

While third generation jeweller, Rohan Narang feels “E-commerce and social media is very important for the business. But at the same time, one cannot be dependent on it for selling. It is medium to reach out to your endconsumer. For us, online presence is for the buyers of tomorrow, especially the millennials. These buyers are not only tech savvy but would not mind making their fine jewellery purchases online. When these buyers are key decision makers, they would change the buying scenario. However, it will take time as in our country jewellery buying is still about ‘touch and feel’ and I don’t see it changing overnight or in some months. But it will change for sure.”

While Ishu Datwani feels that online presence and social media is important but for smaller stuff. Saurabh Gadgil thinks that online presence is crucial too for a brand. He states that in the digital age when society behaviour changing fast, it is inevitable to have an online presence for organized jewellery retailers. And it’s should be with all possible media like, a website, an e-commerce platform, social media pages and blogs to reap optimum results. Even if retail jewellers do not wish to have ecommerce platform, customers and potential customers are expecting to see all about business via internet media. If they don’t find respective jewellers business online, that retailer could be missing out on the opportunity to increase its customer base and missing to get the word out about its products, design collections and related offers and promotions.