Couture with Conviction

Launched in November 2023, NS Jewellers may be based in Siliguri, but it's designed as a premium national brand from day one. Managing Director Bharat Raj speaks to The Retail Jeweller about creating a couture jewellery label with a 5,000 sq. ft. high-concept store and and high-impact campaigns.

- by PRATYASHA KUMARI

EDITED EXCERPTS:

Few tier-3 city jewellers adopt such a luxury tone. What is the bigger plan behind it?

We may have started in a tier 3 city, but our plans are global. Every touchpoint, from our jewellery designs to our digital presence, has been carefully crafted to reflect a modern and bold brand. We have the best designers, karigars from across India, a top digital marketing team, and an immersive store.

Customers here already treat us like a luxury destination. With that response, our next step is New Delhi, then other metros. We don't see our journey as local to regional to national. It's national to global.

As a first-generation brand, what challenges did you face entering the jewellery industry?

Jewellery is built on trust. Consumers either turn to legacy names or corporates. For us, being new, this was the biggest challenge. Fortunately, the NS name already had credibility in Siliguri through our businesses in real estate and tea retail. That trust transferred to jewellery. About 30–40% of our jewellery clients come from other NS ventures. Social media and offline events helped us build credibility further.

How is a tier 3 market responding to such a premium positioning, and why did you choose Siliguri?