INTERVIEW WITH PRANAV H MEHTA

In an informal chat with Chennaibest.com, Pranav H Mehta, Proprietor of Bapalal and Co., speaks about the latest trends and changes in the jewellery market in Chennai. Bapalal and Co. have been leading jewellers in Chennai since 1910.

The biggest change of course is the transparency that has come about in costing.  There are three aspects to be looked into - the raw material, labour charges and creativity.  These are the aspects that go into the pricing.  Nobody will buy gold if there is nothing new about it every time you buy.  Most people will pay for the raw material and maybe a little amount for the labour, but they will not consider paying for the creativity that has gone into the design.  The designing part of jewellery…the creativity that has gone into the making of the piece of jewellery is something that is just not tangible.  The customer needs to understand the effort that has gone into creating the very design.

One can see a lot of offers about 'no making charges' and so on.  It is just not possible to sell a product for just the cost of the raw material.  There just can’t be a 'free lunch' and the buyers need to keep that in mind.  It is better to deal with a person upfront who spells out the pricing clearly.  All that a customer may lose is a small premium on the particular piece of jewellery.  But when he goes in for a piece of jewellery, which comes with ‘no making charge’ or some other offer like that, the quality of product itself is doubtful.

Now it is a question of how creative one can get.  As the phrase goes ‘let us change with the signs of times’.  We have to keep updating and even changing our marketing strategy.  There is a lot more integrity in the business, which is good for the customer.  So the two aspects of uncertainty or doubt in the customer’s mind, viz., the veracity of the jeweller’s claim and what to do in case anything goes wrong, are taken care of.  Integrity in the trade is going to solve a lot of doubts in the customer’s mind. 

There is also the angle of service.  Before, it was like wholesale service.  The jeweller would just throw different varieties of necklaces and leave it at that.  It was like either you bought it or you didn’t.  But now, all that is history, with a lot more personal attention.  A jewellery shop is no more just a room with all the four walls stacked with jewellery.  The shopping environ has become a lot more comfortable and clutter free.  This has not come about overnight though.  Many people have gone abroad or learnt about the kind of service in other countries and the kind of ambience showrooms abroad boast of.  Having experienced or heard about this kind of service, people expect the same standards here and demand it.

Branded Jewellery does not score over traditional jewellery, because people’s mindset has not changed so radically.  Yes, there is a change, but it is not a sea change.  People are opening up to the concept of branded jewellery.  Traditonal jewellery is a clear winner at present.   But the scene is likely to change, as the preference of brands and loyalty towards brands increase.

There is no specific type of customers as such in this segment.  The whole spectrum of society does buy diamonds.  But one common thread is that the people who buy diamond jewellery generally have already made up their minds to buy diamond jewellery before they come to the showroom.

Earlier, there were seasons and festivals like Deepavali, when sales used to peak.  But now, there are no seasons, mainly because lifestyles and buying habits have undergone a radical change.  Anybody can buy almost anything at any time, thanks to bigger purchasing power.  There is no restricted period for buying anymore.  Earlier, one used find people saving up to buy jewellery for a special occasion.  Nowadays, one doesn’t find that trend anymore.  The buying is evenly spread throughout the year. 

Diamond jewellery cannot take the sheen off gold sales, not only in Chennai, but elsewhere also.  It is not like as if one product is eating into the other.  Both are going their own separate ways.

Men’s jewellery is a very limited area of operation.  One cannot speak of percentage, as the volume of sales in this exclusive area is very less.  But it is opening up and as the awareness of men’s fashion and jewellery grows, the demand will pick up.

This is a change over time.  People are getting to know the various designer varieties in jewels, which wasn’t there before.  They have some doubts, which were not there earlier, like the uncertainty and doubt over 18K and 22K.  People here are used to 22K, while the world over 18K is the standard.

If at all there is change, then the change is in the thinking of people, their perceptions.  The mindset that jewellery was a 100% investment is not there.  There is a balance between the look and aesthetics of the jewellery.  Earlier they thought it was enough to buy a chunky piece of gold, which would have a high resale value.  Nowadays people go in for good-looking designs, though the piece may not have a particularly high resale value.  Customers are beginning to value the skilled labour that goes into the making of such designer jewellery.

A very small percentage is for export.  And of this small percentage of exports, most of it is made to known customers or a very small number of specific items to shops, to be resold in their respective countries.. 

The question is based on the assumption that jewellery is a line of business where the margins are high.  Yes, the competition is increasing and the margin is decreasing.  But again there is more to a piece of jewellery than just pricing.  Today, the shopper balances his requirement of reasonable prices with quality service.