Indian Jeweller (IJ) Magazine August -September 2019

Personality
Mitesh is a
firm believer in
empowering
his team. There
is a pressure on
achieving the targets.
On achievement of
targets, the team
gets an incentive.
The incentive
structure is designed
in such a way that
everyone in the
team gets
benefitted.
Thinking outside the Box
Dhanteras is a big gold and jewellery buying
occasion in all ofIndia. It was not so in Odisha.
However, the credit of making Dhanteras
an occasion for buying gold in the State
goes to Mitesh Khimji. In order to ensure a
faster turnaround time and to maximise sale,
additional cash counters were created. On
Dhanteras, 16 cashiers were deployed.
Consumers preferred to buy gold coins
from the banks because of their on-going
relationship. Khimji released ads in papers
educating the customers that gold coins
bought from the banks cannot be traded. It
was therefore a good idea to buy them from a
jeweller so that gold can be converted to cash
in case of an emergency.
Mitesh believes in the power of advertising.
He chose to appoint the Mumbai basedad
agency Contract Advertising for the latest
multimedia campaign,“ThePerfect Match”
featuring Yami Gautam. The campaign has
an interesting theme that draws inspiration
from SWAYAMVAR, the ancient practice of
choosing a husband from a list of suitors. Yami
chooses a groom from among 15 proposals
that she has received. The voice over says
that a bride has a similar relationship with
her jewellery and compares it with a lifelong
companion.
Secrets to Success
Luxury brands are perceived to be expensive.
While this may not be true as customers have
money with them. It is a good idea to make
exclusive brands inclusive at the retail level.
Applying this principle, Mont Blanc has been
allotted space next to PGI in order to attract
the attention of jewellery buyers. Mitesh
Khimji is of the opinion that if an exclusive
space is allotted to luxury brands, potential
buyers are reluctant to visit that area.
One of the reasons why platinum and
diamond jewellery are doing well at Khimji
Jewellers is due to their proximity to the gold
section. Khimji has taken a holistic view about
the needs of a jewellery buyer. They try to
give a seamless experience to the browsers
by keeping trays of diamond and platinum
jewellery in the gold section.
Consumers irrespective of which section
they visit are shown high value products
withintent to up sell. After they show sufficient
interest, the customers are escorted to the
diamond or platinum area.
On the first Saturday of the month, at sharp
9 am, Mitesh conducts a meeting with his
sales team on the floor of his flagship store.
All his other stores join in by way of video
conferencing. All participants, including
Mitesh sit on the floor. During this meeting
everyone has the freedom to express their
views. Mitesh is a firm believer in empowering
his team. There is a pressure on achieving the
targets. On achievement of targets, the team
gets an incentive. The incentive structure is
designed in such a way that everyone in the
team gets benefitted. At the store level, the
incentive is as high as a 10 gram gold coin.A
tech savvy entrepreneur, Mitesh has created
mobile apps that monitor the sales number on
real time basis. Communication is swift and
direct.
Mitesh’s philosophy is earning and sharing
profits with his team, “If I have graduated from
a Maruti to Mercedes, my team should at least
graduate from a bicycle to a motorcycle,” he
says. His plan for the future is to have an online
presence and also open three new stores in
Odisha. He is very bullish about Jharsuguda
in particular. Flights were first started by
SpiceJet in March, making Jharsuguda Airport
the second operational airport in Odisha.
An industrial hub, it is popularly known as
the “Powerhouse of Odisha” due to a large
number of industries mostly thermal power
plants located nearby.
78 | august-september 2019 | INDIAN JEWELLER