These 5 entrepreneurs are bringing back the shine to the Indian jewellery market
We take a look at entrepreneurs disrupting the Indian jewellery market with their evolving designer jewellery pieces, and how they are surviving the cut-throat competition.
Trends are capricious. In the ever-growing fashion industry, where each day brings forth something new and unique, it has become binding for industry entrepreneurs to keep evolving.
And in this scenario, India's gems and jewellery sector, which is one of the largest in the world, contributing 29 percent to global jewellery consumption, it has become both competitive and challenging for entrepreneurs to stay atop the shifting trend algorithm by playing on the designs and price points.
The market size of the sector is said to be about $75 billion as of 2018, and is estimated to reach $100 billion by 2025. The market has more than 3,00,000 players in India at present.
At SMBStory, we take a look at entrepreneurs who are disrupting the Indian jewellery market with their evolving designer jewellery pieces, and how they are surviving the cut-throat competition.
Kalyan Jewellers
Kalyanraman, Founder, Kalyan Jewellers
Twenty-two-years ago, TS Kalyanraman Iyer morphed his traditional textile retail business into a jewelley business after one of his customers suggested him the idea of selling gold jewellery at his store.
While he initially started with a single store, it came with many challenges, and setting up his first jewellery store also taught him many lessons. Kalyanraman had ordered jewellery that did not sell in his catchment, and the staff did not know how to sell jewellery either. He then started by selecting pieces of jewellery that his catchment liked and trained his entire staff in explaining what each item of jewellery was.
And today, Kalyan Jewellers has become one of the largest jewellery retailers in the country with a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore. It has the second largest footprint of stores – 94 across the country – only after Titan Company Limited’s Tanishq brand, which has 190 stores across India.
According to the company, what makes it click is making jewellery designs to fit local culture and preferences. And this is why it has jewellery pertaining to the culture of each state.
Kalyan Jewellers also holds a strong control on all its jewellery designs, which is manufactured by approximately 750 sub-contractors with around three production centres. The company has even launched 13 brands to cater to women of different age groups.
Renaissance Jewellery
Sumit Shah, Founder and Managing Director, Renaissance Jewellery
Entrepreneur Sumit Shah revamped his father’s diamond cutting business to set up a new jewellery business called Renaissance, which means 'rebirth', in 1995.
Today, Renaissance Jewellery Limited (RJL) has become one of the largest exporters of studded jewellery to leading jewellery retailers across the world. The brand has a strong 150-member product development team spread across the US, UK, Dubai, and Mumbai.
Under Sumit’s leadership, the brand has become a stalwart in india’s gems and jewellery sector. The Rs 1,800 crore company is headquartered in the Special Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ), Mumbai, and has subsidiaries in the US, UK, and Dubai.
Candere
Rupesh Jain, Founder, Candere
At a time when BlueStone and Caratlane were finding their feet in the online jewellery market, Mumbai-based Candere stepped in to provide customers with precious jewellery with a personalised touch.
Started in 2013 by Rupesh Jain in a small rented space, which could accommodate just three people, Candere now receives approximately 4,000 monthly orders, and clocks Rs 35 crore annually.
The brand deals in precious metals, diamonds, and platinum, and receives most of the raw materials from Zaveri Bazaar and Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.
However, in 2017, Candere joined hands with Kalyan Jewellers on a merger of 60:40 ratio.
RK Jewellers
Rohan Sharma, Managing Director, RK Jewellers
Rakesh Sharma and his wife Sunita founded RK Jewellers in Delhi in 1995 to serve customers with the best gold and diamond jewellery designs in the market.
In 2011, the second generation, comprising their children Rohan and Prakshi, stepped in and decided to build on top of their parents’ achievements. They wanted to transform RK Jewellers into a brand that offers aesthetic design collections, catering to an audience beyond India.
At present, the brand caters to around 8,000 customers a year with gold and gemstone jewellery. It has also spread its wings to Dubai and the US market.
Noble Jewellers
Bhasker Verma, Founder, Noble Jewellers
Trying to break away from the age-old mould of selling traditional Indian jewellery, Bhasker Verma established Noble Jewels in Jaipur in 2008. The company was established with a desire to create unique, personalised, custom-made, and high-end jewellery designs for customers.
Started by using his personal savings of Rs 5 lakh as an initial investment, today the company is seeing an annual turnover of around Rs 20 lakh, and employs 50 people directly.
To offer people customised jewellery, Bhasker also launched a portal called ‘Jewelsera’, where they sell customised jewellery.
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