The Hindu : Diamond jewellery: branded products gaining ground

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 11, 2003

Business

Business

Diamond jewellery: branded products gaining ground

By Ramnath Subbu

MUMBAI MAY 10. The Indian branded diamond jewellery market, which took off as a new segment in the Rs. 50,000 crore Indian gems and jewellery market a couple of years ago, is picking up pace. The segment grew 20 per cent in terms of sales in calendar 2002 against 5 per cent in the previous year, according to an industry source.

According to Sanjay Kothari, chairman, Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), "The area of branded diamond jewellery is new. No one had really entered the segment and it will take at least a few years to develop. Internationally, there are players such as Tiffany's who have several decades of experience in the field and their brands too have grown over this period. It is too early to predict about this segment".

Unbranded diamonds dominate the segment with the branded diamond jewellery accounting for only a minuscule per cent of total sales in India. Sailesh Sangani, chairman and managing director, Gitanjali Diamonds, whose branded jewellery under the brand of `Gili' has met with a fair degree of success said, "Out of the diamond jewellery industry size of around Rs. 50,000 crores, branded diamond jewellery constitutes only about Rs. 1,000 crores".

The Diamond Trading Company (DTC), which made a foray into the segment with its `Nakshatra' range about two years ago, has aggressive plans. It plans to rope in diamond merchants to advertise and market their lines and create awareness for branded jewellery.

The DTC has created brands such as Nakshatra (traditional jewellery), Asmi (low-priced jewellery) and Arisia (premium jewellery). In fact, the Nakshatra brand was launched in November 2000 and is today stocked in major jewellery stores across the country. The products are endorsed, branded and promoted by DTC. Merchants select the brand they want to support and supply the diamonds to the retail market. The merchants get retailers into the net to support DTC's A&M efforts. Asmi was launched in 2002 and is positioned at affordable price points while Arisia is about a year old and caters to the premium segment using solitaire diamonds above 1 carat.

Mr. Kothari said, "The DTC has been trying to create a brand for the last couple of years and other branded jewellery makers too have products such as Gili and Tanishq and they are doing well".

According to Mr. Sangani, "Branded jewellery is still only a minuscule constituent of the jewellery market in India and is now available only in pockets — mainly the metros and mini-metros — it is very much an urban phenomenon. This is also largely because it is fashion-driven and percolates down to the mini metros".

Although branded diamond jewellery has been basically and urban phenomenon, there is enough place for all players. "The aim after all, is to increase the size of the diamond consuming market," said Balaji Viswanathan, regional manager, DTC, who was confident that branded diamond jewellery would continue to grow at a faster pace.

"One can certainly say that there is an advantage that the customer would be assured of both quality and value when buying from the reputed players," said Mr. Kothari, adding, "But there is no way that the branded diamond jewellery would replace unbranded jewellery in the foreseeable future".

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business

Stories in this Section

Market regulation: Lack of transparency

Gujarat Coop.'s expansion plans

Diamond jewellery: branded products gaining ground

Forex reserves up $588 m