27 September 2012

Branded gold jewellers see glitter in expansion

Branded gold jewellery retailers seem to be on an expansion spree. This is despite high gold prices dampening demand in the last few months.
The sharp rise in gold prices and the high taxes have worsened the situation for standalone jewellers already battling the economic slowdown.
About 90 per cent of the market is dominated by unbranded single shop jewellers. Branded jewellers have decided to increase their market share by opening showrooms in smaller towns.
Prominent Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers last week opened its first showroom at Ahmedabad. It intends opening three more at Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat at an investment of Rs 300 crore by the end of this fiscal. At present, it owns 37 stores and hopes to open 100 by 2015.
The 150-year-old Mumbai-based Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri has ventured east by opening two showrooms in Kolkata. Shrikant Zaveri, Chairman, TBZ, said that in the last six months, three showrooms had been opened in Pune, Mumbai and Vadodara. With the opening of the two showrooms in Kolkata, TBZ now has 18 in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Besides established players spreading their wings into new markets, Nalli Silks plans to diversify into the jewellery business. Nalli Jewellers opened its first store in Chennai recently. It aims to open a jewellery outlet at the 25 destinations where Nalli Silks has a presence.
Gitanjali Gems has also set a target to open 300 retail outlets this fiscal. Of these, 40-45 stores will be owned by the company, while the rest will be via the franchise model. The company currently has 4,000 retail outlets across India.
Abhishek Gupta, President, Gitanjali Gems, said that in recent times there has been a significant shift in jewellery trade from the unorganised sector to branded jewellery, with consumer preference for design and purity of the yellow metal.
“With rising cost of fund and slowing demand, small players are also finding it difficult to hold on to high inventory. This has opened up fresh opportunities in the franchising business,” he added.
Stabilisation of rentals at leading malls and prominent shopping places in the rural areas should also help jewellers when they negotiate long-term contract for the stores. 
SOURCE: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/marketing/article3935710.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy

Gold rush for jewellery brands in south India

Big jewellery businesses in southern India are signing movie stars to endorse their brands 
Chennai: Tamil movie star Suriya walks around a pristine beach dressed in a casual suit that’s nearly the same colour as the sand, and reminds viewers that “life is beautiful”—especially when it’s filled with jewellery from Malabar Gold and Diamonds.
Suriya is only the latest south Indian film actor to throw his celebrity weight behind a jewellery brand— and by the look of it, he isn’t going to be the last.
The big four in the jewellery business in southern India–Malabar Gold, Kalyan Jewellers, Joy Alukkas and Jos Alukkas–are signing movie stars to endorse their brands in the hope that they will be able to sway their myriad fans to the jewellery stores.
They have increased advertising budgets across media to combat a slump in demand, overcome competition from small retailers and facilitate their expansion to new locations and markets. Whether it’s in print or on television, the brands are working hard to seduce shoppers into ignoring the steep price tags on their gold jewellery and precious stones.
Domestic demand for the yellow metal was hammered down in the first quarter of 2012 by a new tax on jewellery, increases in the import duty for gold and the volatility of the rupee, according to World Gold Council (WGC).
In the second quarter of 2012, jewellery demand saw its steepest decline to 124.8 tonne, down 30% year-on-year from 179.5 tonne, said WGC
Meanwhile, the jewellery category has witnessed a surge in advertising spending in the last three years, said Sriram Sharma, vice president-Bangalore, Starcomm Worldwide. Growth may have been slower at 25% between January and June, compared to 34 % for the same period in 2010, but the spending is growing nonetheless, he said.
At 77%, the bulk of advertising on gold jewellery is in print—advertisers say female shoppers often carry along clippings of jewellery ads to showrooms—but it’s on television that mostly male movie stars of south India are doing the hard sell.
Before signing Suriya, Malabar Gold featured music director Illayaraja and Hindi actor Hema Malini in Tamil Nadu. Tamil actors Madhavan and Vijay endorse Joy Alukkas and Jos Alukkas, respectively.
“Without a celebrity endorsing the brand, it is difficult to create mass appeal and brand recall,” said Varghese Alukka, managing director of Jos Alukkas.
The mascot changes depending on the state being targeted. Malayalam film star Mohanlal endorses the Malabar gold brand in Kerala.
Kalyan Jewellers is endorsed by popular actors from each of the four film industries in the south: Prabhu in Tamil Nadu, Akkineni Nagarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, Shivaraj Kumar in Karnataka and Dilip in Kerala.
Malabar spent Rs.75 crore on advertising last year and expects to spend Rs.100 crore to build up its brand this year, said, Abdul Salam, group executive director of Malabar Gold and Diamond.
Kalyan Jewellers, which has 35 retail showrooms, 15 more outlets in the pipeline and plans to expand in western and northern markets, expects to double its advertising budget to Rs.150 crore this year, said chairperson and managing director T.S. Kalyanaraman.
Kalyan’s push towards northern markets has led to Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being added to its list of celebrity endorsers. Bachchan recently joined Prabhu for an elaborately storyboarded television commercial that staged a reunion between Bachchan playing a school teacher and Prabhu, a grateful pupil.
“This is the first time south and north stars have collaborated together for a commercial on this scale,” said V.A. Shrikumar, director of the commercial. He has directed another commercial in which Aishwarya Rai Bachchan takes a dip in a pool of gold.
Each of the television spots has distinctive storylines to distinguish one brand from the next. Product displays are woven into densely plotted scripts that emphasise the values that the brands claims to represent. Vijay talks about a return to roots theme in the Jos Alukkas commercials, while Madhavan hardsells the purity of Joy Alukkas products—he plays a police officer who arrests a bunch of people for selling impure gold in one television spot.
“The idea is to create a pull,” said Anil Sathiraju, associate vice president and head, south, for DDB Mudra Group. Mudra Creative handles the Joy Alukkas account. “The product advertising is different for each brand and they all want to say a different story.”
The jewellery brands were spending close to Rs.300 crore on advertising and brand building initiative across print and television, estimated Sathiraju. “They have increased their spends,” he added. “They cannot survive without advertising”.
SOURCE: http://origin-www.livemint.com/Consumer/9h0n8UqBKSj6um0HPztDOO/Gold-rush-for-jewellery-brands-in-south-India.html

17 September 2012

Kalyan Jewellers forays in Gujarat

Embarking on a major expansion spree, leading jewelry store chain, Kalyan Jewellers, have stepped out of South India and forayed into western state of Gujarat with its first store in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
A flagship of the century old Kalyan Group, has also roped in the super star Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador. Bachchan is already brand ambassador for Gujarat Tourism.
Claiming to be a market leader in the South, Kalyan Jewellers is planning to invest Rs 1000 crore this year and is likely to enter Maharashtra and other parts of Gujarat. It was also tragetting Rs 16,000 crore turnover by the end of this fiscal.
“Kalyan Jewellers enjoy a strong association and trust. The launch of our store in Gujarat underlines the importance of this dynamic market. We are hopeful that our tryst with Ahmedabad will make more jewellery aficionados appreciate the brand and its unparalleled collection," said T S Kalyanaraman, Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers, during the inauguration company's 38th store in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Speaking on the occasion, Bachchan said that Gujarat was like a home to him as he has received lot of love and warmth from the people of the state. He said that his association with the Kalyan brand was very recent.
Kalyan Jewellers is also likely to open three more showrooms in Rajkot, Vadodara, and Surat with an estimated investment of Rs 300 crore, by the end of this fiscal.

SOURCE: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/kalyan-jewellers-forays-in-gujarat/486607/

15 September 2012

OMG Oh My Gold

Oh My Gold
TLC to host new series of Oh My Gold
Leading lifestyle channel in India, TLC will be airing a new season of its programme ‘OH MY GOLD’, delivering a fresh approach to tapping India’s jewellery market. The new avatar of the programme will be hosted by former Miss India, Nikita Anand and will showcases the sheer diversity and wealth of Indian jewellery’s cultural heritage and its age-old fascination with personal ornamentation.
Some segments will explain how gold and jewels have transcended materialism and become an integral part of spiritual and religious custom, sanctified over the centuries, blended with new and exciting trends in the world of jewellery– contemporary trends in gold, diamonds, pearls and gems.
Host Nikita will interact with leading designers to explore trends in new designs, materials and the inspiration behind the modern interpretation of Indian ornamentation. ‘Golden style tips’ will be also be shared with viewers. The regional specificity of embellishment - styles, history, local artisanal traditions and tastes, will form part of the show’s content also, as will the wealth of jewellery in the City Of Joy - Kolkata, the Golden Paradise - Chennai, The city of Gods and gold - Thiruvananthapuram and Pune, land of the Marathas.
The new series is slated to begin from October 22 every Monday at 9:00 p.m., on TLC.

SOURCE: http://diamondworld.net/contentview.aspx?item=7261