Branded Gold Jewellery Market in India

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Carbon Contd...

Like Tanishq, Carbon laid emphasis on design. Most of its designs were contributed by students at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) through the diploma programme which the company sponsored. In addition, Peakok's team of six designers, (headed by Rajeswari Iyer, an alumnus of a German design school who had worked in the U.K., Germany and India) turned out around 180 to 200 styles in a year, with 75 designs per style.

At any point in time, there were around 600 designs of Carbon on sale, and on an average, 300 to 400 pieces per design were sold. In 2002, Carbon launched its 'Sun Sign' collection, which was based on the symbols of the Zodiac. This collection was a set of 12 pendants designed in a blend of 18 carat white and yellow gold (Refer Exhibit III). While 18 carat gold was commonly used in Carbon products, some of the designs also used white gold, titanium and steel. Diamond was the preferred precious stone, but other colored stones were also used. Comprising items of everyday use, (rings, chains, bracelets, ear studs, tie-pins and cuff links) Carbon items were an impulse purchases. (Refer Exhibit IV) The brand had no offtake cycles in the year, like the marriage season, unlike traditional jewellery. The creation, manufacture and marketing of Carbon was different from the making and selling of traditional jewellery. Said Rao, "We are attempting here to eliminate the low productivity, quality inconsistencies and high precious metal loss associated with traditional jewellery making.

We have instituted modern manufacturing practices such as self- contained small groups in the assembly area, self-inspection by the operators, the Japanese Kaizen approach to improvements in operational practices and the like. We have brought down our manufacturing loss of gold to 6.8 per cent. The average in the traditional Indian jewellery shop is as high as 22 per cent, while the world average is only 2 per cent."¹⁴

As the profile of the average customer likely to purchase a Carbon item was a well-paid urban professional, 24 to 38 years old, having a credit card, it was decided that Carbon should not be placed in the usual jewellery shops but made available at `shop-in-shop' outlets in large lifestyle stores (such as Shoppers Stop, Ebony, Globus, The Bombay Store, Lifestyle and Taj Khazana) and some premium boutiques (such as the Helvetica in Chennai).

Said Rao, "We are looking at cross-promoting Carbon jewellery with other branded lifestyle products such as perfumes, clothing and cosmetics."¹⁵ Carbon products were priced between Rs. 2,750 and Rs. 20,000 per piece. While the cost of traditional jewellery was negotiable, the cost of Carbon items was fixed and nationally uniform.

Oyzterbay

Oyzterbay, with its tag line "Jewellery for the Living", had become synonymous with the entire gamut of occasions where modern young women would like to wear stylish and affordable jewellery. Oyzterbay's collection comprised over 1200 designs in 18, 22 and 24 carat gold and sterling silver, with natural colored gemstones. The price of the jewellery ranged between Rs. 500 and Rs.30000.

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14] The Hindu, October 4, 2001.
15] The Hindu, October 4, 2001.