BREAKING THE SET NORMS

As jewellers rethink their business strategies to strive in the brave new world that is slowly shaping up from the ramparts of the destruction wreaked by the pandemic, Retail Jeweller speaks to jewellers to find out how Covid has intensified a culture of learning and change within organizations, the leadership lessons learnt and unlearnt and the measures designed to reduce the impact on business from unknown and relatively known risks

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Ahammed MP

Chairman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds

The success of our ‘One India One Gold Rate’ plan will make traders think about uniform gold prices

THE RETAIL JEWELLER (TRJ): What valuable lessons have you learnt from Covid?

AHAMMED MP (AM): First, jewellery retail should be in sync with the changed reality that is the rise of commerce through digital channels. Second, digital communication channels should be leveraged extensively to explore new retail opportunities. Third, we need to develop a collaborative environment so that all the stakeholders in the supply chain continue to work together to keep the business running. Fourth, safety and hygiene for the customer are as important the luxury of a pleasant shopping experience. And finally, as everyone’s marketing budget has taken a hit, we have to think creatively to engage with customers. For example, we organized virtual store launches.

TRJ: What are the business-risks you would like to minimize based on your experience of the pandemic?

AM: We aim to become the world’s largest jeweller with a target to triple its retail network from 250 showrooms in 2018 to 750 outlets by 2023. So, we have taken certain risks that are in stride while pursuing the growth plan. The introduction of our ‘One India One Gold Rate’ plan also involved risks. Having said that, pandemic has taught us to rationalize some operational and management-related risks and we are implementing them. For instance, all our stores across the country were shut down, we quickly switched to online, and bolstered our e-commerce presence to reach out to customers.