Talking to a friend over dinner a few nights ago. One question that came up was how are the family jewellers going to fight the onslaught of Big Retailers in the future.
Family jewellers have ruled the indian jewellery retailing for centuries now. So far, so called "organized retailing' was non existent or just a miniscule share of the more than $12 bn. jewellery market in India.
But now the big jewellers are upping the ante. The goliath in the jewellery industry -Tanishq recently opened its storefront in Pitampura. Goliaths being goliaths are deep pocketed and omnipresent rivals.
In the jewellery industry , its safe to say loyalty among consumers drives the family jewellers. But shifting loyalty is just a "so low making charges" away. So, is there scope for innovation beyond loyalty that can keep the family jewellers flags flying high.
With the impending big retailers push in the jewellery sector. What are the options for a family jeweller? How can they fight the onslaught? So what is it the davids can do the goliaths cant?
In this post I try to dig deeper to analyze some of those options.
1) Design is not a commodity:
No matter how big the giant be, no matter how deep their pockets are . Design will never be a commodity. And precisely thats the reason when you don't like something you have the option to go to another shop. A big retailer can only have so many designs which will appeal to so many users. Designs at a big retailer are mass produced to satisfy the lowest common denominator. And this leads to a distaste when you see someone else wearing what you are wearing.
2) Owning a niche:
Travelling through Chandni Chowk one cant help but notice how single product businesses are flourishing. People from all over delhi flock to the bylanes of this part of delhi for its savories. Whether its the dahi bhallas of natraj or the kachories of the corner shop past the paranthe wali gali. These businesses have held their own despite the biggies like haldirams and are just a stones throw away.
The remarkable thing these businesses have done is own a niche in the food sector. Similarly owning a niche whether its
custom diamond engagement rings, moissanites or just polki jewellery has its own rewards.
3) Going the extra mile err... kilometer:
Its good to have certain processes which a company follows and have pre-determined rules in place. Often that helps in resolving conflicts later on. The sales person is trained to handle situations like this in a text book fashion. In a big retail store , Professionals have little incentives to make a one to one relationship with the clients.
When a customer needs a little bit of extra service or explanation. Can your 'processes' handle it? For example we have a 30-Day 100% money back on all our stocked jewellery. What if a customer came with a peice of jewellery on the 31st day or 35th day or maybe even the 40th day after the purchase? We will still be able to offer the same guarantee whereas the stringent 'processes' of the retail chain might not be able to extend that courtesy. Or schedule a payment collection from home? Can they open the store on a holiday to allow you to make that last minute gift purchase for your wedding anniversary?
4) Taking the best from the competition.
Besides Tata's reputation behind it, it was the standardization at Tanishq. Consumers knew that the gold purity was assured and so was the quality of craftsmanship. And this wouldn't vary if you went from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Quickly comply with the BIS hallmarking standards. The sooner you do the better. After all "its profitable to be ethical".
Side Note: Tanishq follows its own certification and not the BIS certification.
5)Being a part of the community:
We have been in the north west delhi for 15 years and that has helped us to understand this neighbourhood better than a lot of other people. A lot of small businesses have been in their respective neighborhoods for that long or longer. Take that and mix it with social responsibility(CSR). For E.g. you can support certain causes with school like no-firecrackers-this-diwali. You can adopt a road divider and green it up. You can sponsor cultural events in your neighborhood. No retail chains can be a part of your community like you can.
Goliaths like Tanishq has access to huge amounts of fund which are used to buy more designs, a better shop ambience and a scientific Karat-o-meter(to verify the purity of gold). Ofcourse, the Tata brand brings in unrivalled brand equity.
Davids are nimble they can 'change' fast and any change by goliaths will require innumerable meetings among their directors, they need to take care of cultural issues(being pan india) , logistics becomes a nightmare and sometimes their computer systems wont be able to handle it.
In the storybook outcome, David wins. Lets make that story come alive in the jewellery sector.
Image Courtesy: DNA- The third mobile operator
A handmade bangle.
A antique look handmade bangle
A Bangle Stack.
