Style Quotient Jewellery plans to double its footprint

 

The journey began with an in film merchandise for blockbuster "Bajrangi Bhaijaan”. We manufactured the Bajrangi pendant worn by Salman Khan in the film and retailed it in India, Middle East and USA. Was an instant hit, and we soon started getting requests for the pendant from consumers all over the world. That's when we realized the reach and magnetism of Salman Khan worldwide. The success of Bajrangi Bhaijaan Pendant motivated us to extend the line from one pendant to the entire jewellery line for the Being Human Foundation which gave the platform for Being Human Jewellery. We studied the core values of the brand “Being Human”, and understood the motivations, price point, design and reasons to buy.  We are positive that the customers are going to be excited with the various differentiated collections and products being introduced under Being Human Jewellery. The initial response has been tremendous. We are currently available with more than 50+ retailers and MBOs across the nation. We wish to double the same y-o-y.

 

Keeping in mind the growing customer preferences, what’s your omni-channel strategy? Is booming e-commerce an opportunity? What’s your online pivot?

The customer today is more aware of products, brands, quality, availability and price than ever. With the immense penetration of social media and ecommerce it is essential to have an omni channel strategy. We have capitalised on the booming ecommerce, we are extensively present on leading platforms like Amazon, Myntra, Jabong etc. furthermore we are present with more than 50+ retailers and MBOs across the nation.

 

What all innovations have been introduced by the company this year – in terms of design, customer loyalty, and technology, among others?

For Being Human fine diamond jewellery we have tried to address these issues at multiple levels. 

1/- The jewellery comes in a uniquely designed packaging box, which has a personal audio message from Salman Khan, thanking customers for buying Being Human jewellery and supporting a good cause. The rights to the audio are owned by with us. This should be an deterrent, given that it's not easily replicable. 

2/- GSI certification - the entire range of Being Human Jewellery is certified by GSI ( third Party) one of the world’s largest Gemological organisations. Each of the pieces comes with a unique QR code which enables the customer to re verify the authenticity of the purchase.

3/- All diamonds used in making of Being Human jewellery are natural Australian diamonds that have passed through Rio Tinto's chain of custody system. Which means the origins of the diamond can be tracked down to the mine they have been mined from. 

All this ensures that the customer is buying authentic Being Human jewellery and therefore genuinely supporting a good cause. 

MRP pricing, is the other challenge faced by the category. Traditionally, precious jewellery is bought by break up pricing; that is cost of the metal, precious stones and making charges. The brand however, attempts to change how jewellery is purchased, by offering buyback and exchange policies that give the customer the confidence to buy into the brand.

For Fashion Jewellery

The jewellery is inspired by core values such as love, care, share joy, help and hope. Specially designed Signature Tags perfectly imbibe the values giving it a unisex mass appeal. Design philosophy is perfect balance of Salman’s unique style and International fashion trends.  65 per cent of the jewellery will cater to women with collections like Boho, Metal Faith, Tassel and Bling. 35 per cent of men’s range will constitute of Being Human Value collection and Funk collection.

Whole stylish range of fashion Jewellery have been designed for everyday wear and priced from Rs.150 to Rs.3000. More than 80% of products are within the price bracket of Rs. 1500, rendering the collections to be affordable and trendy. Part proceeds of the sales go to charity to support twin causes of education and healthcare for the underprivileged.

 

What all opportunities do you see going ahead?

Jewellery is inherent part of Indian culture and will never go out of fashion. With 54% of young population India has a huge potential to grow and be one of the largest markets in the world for Silver, Gold & Diamond Jewellery. With advent of technology every cell phone today has a camera and you can be taken a picture of at any point in time, the next moment your picture will be on a social digital media like the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. With change in Fashion and change in technology the young minds are under pressure to be very presentable and accessorized well at any given point in time. This is likely to drive growth for the Fashion and jewellery industry because the fact of life today is “The way you dress is the way to get addressed”. 

In the coming 5 years we see a major growth in affordable jewellery driven primarily by Silver and very light weight gold/diamond jewellery and fashion jewellery.  

The industry is showing signs of moving from standalone store brands to playing at national level. This means a consistent offering, confidence of buying into the category/ brand.

Growing fashion consciousness, affordability, exclusive concepts/designs and jewellery for daily adornment and not for the lockers are the trends which are driving the industry.

 

What’s going to be your future growth strategy? 

Salman's fan following has no borders. He has a huge appeal across the globe. So the world is our oyster. Having said that, the brand’s overall appeal of supporting causes for betterment of the underprivileged adds to the charm of this differentiated offering. We would also introduce certain novel concepts for gifting to ensure wide acceptance.