The Hindu Business Line : Serving the who's who of Mumbai

Jewellery today is a fashion statement; buying is impulsive and party protocol demands jewellery for every outfit. Trendsmith, from the TBZ group, has kept pace with this trend.

Jewellery is as old as civilisation itself. From terracotta pieces found in excavations of pre-historic sites, to the modern showrooms of exotic gems and precious metals, the path traversed has been an exciting one for humankind. Both men and women have shown a fascination for jewellery from time immemorial. From Gods to kings to mere mortals of today, the affair with jewellery is a long-standing one.

Indian jewellery is unique to different regions and the skill of the craftsperson. Jewellery has a place in every major occasion in a person's life from the simple ear-piercing ceremony of a child to the sixtieth wedding anniversary celebrations! The role of the jeweller therefore is an important and longstanding one, based on trust and commitment. It is not surprising to see `family jewellers' just like the `family doctor' in most homes in the country!

But the whole concept of the jeweller and the jewellery store has undergone a change in the country in the wake of globalisation and the corporatisation of India. This is amply demonstrated in the case of the Tribhuvandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) group which grew in Mumbai and today has spread all over the country, albeit in a new avatar. Two members of the family have brought about a paradigm shift in the working module of the jewellery business in the country. Tribhuvandas Bhimji Zaveri set up his jewellery store of the same name in Mumbai's crowded Zaveri Bazar 140 years ago. His six sons handled the business that soon spread to Delhi. Today, the group has three showrooms in Mumbai and one in New Delhi and the fourth generation of the family is into the business.

Says Nirmal Zaveri, grandson of the founder, "I joined the family business as a 20-year-old in 1970. Travelling constantly, designing jewellery all over the world and taking part in exhibitions was my forte. There was no need for a formal training in the subject for me since I had been handling gems ever since I can remember, besides starting off as a salesman at the very bottom of the ladder."

But in 2000 he decided it was time to branch out on his own, and he perpetrated the first winds of change when he set up his own brand under the `TBZ Nirmal Zaveri' name at the busy Hughes Road in Mumbai. "The who's who of Mumbai was already our clientele and people like the Ambanis, the Godrej family and several others came to us merely because of the trust they had in our name," says the man who wanted to make it on his own.

But the real changes began to hit the group through Nirmal's young son Samrat Zaveri, a commerce graduate from Mumbai's HR College and with additional qualification from Harvard University.

"He sees the business from the corporate angle while I see it from the traditional angle," says Nirmal. That is why Samrat decided to induce a change in the way jewellery was being created and sold through the `Trendsmith' chain, which he set up in 2001.

Says Samrat, "Trendsmith is a unique concept. Each store is identical in all six cities with an average area of 2,000 sq ft. Our Indian talent pool is enormous but with no outlets to expose it. At Trendsmith, jewellery designers are handpicked by us and they are allowed to manufacture and display their jewellery along with Asmi and Nakshatra. We give their talent the leveraged resource of retail marketing." He adds, "People no longer buy jewellery to store it in their lockers. It is more a fashion statement with changing lifestyles and the growing yuppie culture. Buying has become impulsive and people want to wear a different piece of jewellery to go along with their ensembles at every cocktail party."

Diamond and coloured gems, white gold and platinum jewellery, traditional and modern designs, can all be found at Trendsmith. Further, innovative marketing and sales techniques have given the brand an edge over others, he says. Soon, a client in Mumbai who has paid for a piece in Chandigarh can change his mind and buy a different set in Mumbai or choose a piece in Chennai and have it delivered to a friend in Delhi! This is the kind of flexibility that has been brought into the business.

The IT boom has encouraged the foray into Hyderabad too and soon they will be in Dubai as well, besides expanding with one more showroom in Mumbai. "Dubai has a large Indian community and we have been servicing our international clients from Dubai for several years now. Hyderabad with its large film industry and high profile clientele is a natural choice and Mumbai is so many cities in one that another branch was imminent," says Nirmal.

While his is a one-to-one personalised service based on trust, Samrat has given the business a corporate touch with mangers handling the entire chain all over the country. Samrat's ingenuity has taken a new turn with the latest scheme at Trendsmith. "Anyone buying more than Rs 3 lakh worth of jewellery from us will be entitled to a gift of Rs 10,000 every year for the next 25 years," he says.

So if a couple buys jewellery for their wedding, till their 25th anniversary, they not only get jewellery and accessories from the store, they also become its future clients. Zero per cent credit loan and insurance schemes are also available, making jewellery buying almost like buying a cell-phone or a car!

"Today, we are six stores old and, in five years, we plan to have a chain of 50 stores with a turnover of Rs 400 crore," says Samrat.

Certainly the winds of change have touched the Indian jewellery business thanks to the fresh initiatives of young blood in an age-old family business.

Picture by Shaju John

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