Indian Jeweller (IJ) Magazine August -September 2019

The Big STory
Jewellers love to serve their clients
in a different way. We don’t want
random walk-ins – and in malls
people do a lot of browsing and
window-shopping and we don’t
want that kind of crowd, which is
why we prefer standalone stores.
There are not many corporate
jewellers in India and the market is
still dominated by family jewellers
who don’t really believe in the idea
of a shopping mall
Sidharth Bafna, RC Bafna
Jewellers
Surrounding atmosphere and
the kind of jewellers present in a
particular locality are important for
us. What crops are primarily grown
in the surrounding villages/towns
is a very vital factor. We also study
the potential growth of the market
in the future
Vikas Kataria, DP Jewellers
To Expand or not to Expand
This question is relevant in today’s
scenario more than ever, with economic
volatility coupled with changing
consumer preferences and digital disruption at
its peak. With skyrocketing per sqft price for
commercial spaces, companies are becoming
all the more prudent in their expansion plans.
In the U.S. luxury retail is adopting a different
strategy and this in some cases does not reflect
on their performances. Dialing back in light
of a changing retail production model that
focuses more on digital sales is a trend we are
witnessing in the west. Ralph Lauren, Saks
Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel and Barney’s
have all closed many stores. Lord & Taylor
on the other hand announced the sale of its
flagship store to WeWork and partner Rhône
Capital. In India though while most brands
are adopting a wait and watch approach given
the market situation, some of them still believe
in an aggressive retain expansion plan. “Retail
expansion is related to the vision and growth
prospect of a brand. Sometimes, due to certain
economic and market scenario, a brand restrategises
its expansion plan. But, expansion
still takes place. In jewellery retail, offline
or brick-and-mortar, retail still commands
significant revenue share compared to that
of online retail. Because, jewellery buyers in
Dialing back in light
of a changing retail
production model
that focuses more
on digital sales
is a trend we are
witnessing in the
west
India still prefer the touch-and-feel aspect
while loosening their purse strings. So, for a
brand which aspires to grow, retail expansion
through opening stores makes more sense,”
quips Ahammed.
Simply expanding alone doesn’t cut it
as consumers are more conscious about
quality than quantity. “Number of stores can
definitely make an impact on the consumers
but I feel nowadays quality is more important
with quantity. To maintain and constantly
upgrade the quality and venturing into new
markets constantly are what make your brand
a successful one according to me,” believes
Aditya. Having opened many stores in
Gujarat, Milan believes now is not a great time
to expand, especially with rising gold prices.
“Times are not good. The big corporate brands
are expanding of course. But what clients
want is also changing, they prefer conceptual
jewellery. Big jewellers sell products and not
stories. So for them it is easier to open stores
as they deal with mass-produced stuff. For us,
design value is important and we can’t keep
expanding without thought. Even the big
brands will eventually have to think of creating
concept-based jewellery,” he says.
Business volumes have definitely come
down and with gold price becoming dearer,
getting people to walk into your stores is
definitely a challenge. “It is going to be very
difficult for retailers to sustain. This is actually
the time for consolidation with prices having
gone up by 25 – 30 per cent. Proportionately,
sales have also dropped. May be a year ago,
expansion was the way forward but now I
think we need to consolidate,” asserts Prathap.
Sidharth looks at the current scenario in a
different light. “People’s budgets haven’t gone
up with the hike in gold price. They get lesser
gold for the price they are paying today, so
the volumes have decreased. The only way to
make up for the lack of volumes is by opening
new stores and reaching newer audiences. You
can’t push your products to the same customer
– you have to find new markets. So expansion
is definitely the way forward.”
106 | august-september 2019 | INDIAN JEWELLER