||ज्ञानयज्ञेन उपासते||
In the Indian jewellery market, the top 7 leading brands registered a CAGR of 10 percent (according to annual reports and financials from ROC, MCA) over the last 3 years driven majorly by store footprint expansion. This growth is commendable given that jewellery demand has been heavily impacted by a slew of regulatory changes like demonetisation and KYC implementation. While, the market recovered in 2017 with a growth of 11 percent, it still remains well much below the demand of 660 tonnes in 2010.
Consumer preferences are changing and jewellers have to compete with other luxury categories, curated travel experiences and equity market assets for a share of the consumer’s wallet.
However, inspite of these trends, there are some interesting shifts happening in the jewellery market creating growth opportunities for players.
Firstly, there is a perceptible shift from wedding wear to daily wear or a change in the usage of jewellery. The traditional wedding jewellery driven market has changed, with Indian women choosing wearable pieces, over heavy sets. The daily and occasion wear segment is expected to displace the wedding segment and contribute to 49 percent of the market by 2020.
Secondly, there is an increased acceptance and preference for diamond jewellery. The overall diamond share has consistently climbed and is expected to grow to 25 percent by 2020. National brands have been increasing their diamond assortment to cater to the growing demand; with 30-40 percent of their assortment consisting of diamonds and solitaires, according to annual reports of leading jewellery brands. Investments in marketing are being undertaken to fuel aspiration and demand.
Thirdly, the influence of the online channel cannot be ignored. Consumers are heavily investing in buying jewellery with their purchase journey starting 2-3 months in advance. As per studies, majority of consumers have started browsing online for designs before walking into a store, making it imperative for brands to have an online presence. While this channel may not immediately drive sales, it constantly aids decision-making by offering the consumer improved ease of browsing and comparison. An Omni-channel business model is no more a choice as indicated by leading traditional brands investing in or acquiring pure-play etailers and pure-play etailers opening up physical stores.
Lastly, the importance of schemes to attract consumers from their traditional jewellers. While consumers have started gravitating towards national brands, traditional jewellers are still, by far the largest sales channel. Consumers continue buying jewellery from their neighbourhood jewellers citing loyalty, family heritage, customization and low making charges as the main drivers for purchase. National brands have also come to realise that schemes like exchange and no making charge are the biggest footfall drivers.
However, brands need to answer 4 critical questions to help drive seamless expansion and growth:
1. What is my competitive positioning?
Brands must evaluate their competitive positioning and build their brand proposition carefully to stand out in today’s crowded marketplace. This requires brands to go back to the drawing board and define who their customer is, has she changed over time, what are her needs and expectations from the brand, what competition is doing to service these needs.
Building a positioning on pure design may not create the required differentiation on a long term basis especially considering emerging technologies. Brands need to carefully investigate this differentiation and create a sustainable edge.
2. What are the different scenarios for growth?
Once brands have defined their positioning, they need to carefully evaluate the key options:
i) Product offering
ii) Nature of expansion – local, regional or national
iii) Type of store formats – traditional high street, malls, large vs small formats
iv) Channels – offline, online, Omni-channel
v) Marketing, communication and consumer schemes
3. What are the various avenues for expansion?
Brands also need to carefully evaluate their funding decisions –
i) Own funds to control brand – while this gives control, there is need to evaluate the impact on balance sheet and working capital considering the huge investments in inventory and the inventory turns of this industry or
ii) Franchising to bring to the table speed to market, favourable locations and local market know-how or
iii) Acquisitions to build capabilities - recent acquisitions saw traditional jewellers acquire or invest in pure-play online jewellers to build their digital capabilities
4. Internal readiness:
This is the most important measure of timely execution and is often neglected by brands. Internal readiness is characterised by:
i) The right team to support expansion covering retail execution, merchandising & digital functions
ii) Value chain capability to ensure prompt service and product availability
iii) Standardised processes to address scale and efficiency
While the overall jewellery market is going through some tough times, brands by making intelligent use of market insights and being close to their consumers can surely identify avenues of growth. This growth strategy however, needs to be supported by the brand’s readiness both externally and most important internally.
-By Pinakiranjan Mishra, Partner and National leader, Consumer Products and Retail, EY and Vivette D’cruz, Director, Consumer Products and Retail, EY Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/how-can-jewellery-brands-drive-growth/
Organisations are introducing and continuing several leadership development programs in almost every sector, from global multi-nationals to family-owned businesses, consulting companies and the public-sector organisations. It is being incorporated especially at the mid-management and senior levels. All kinds of methodologies like experiential learning, simulations, gaming, theatre and mobile learnings are being used.
The trend has moved from one- to two-day workshops to longer term, almost four- to eight-month long learning journeys. Everyone is beginning to understand that behavioural change requires time, continuous reinforcement, peer-to-peer learning and practising on the job in a non-threatening safe environment. While all these initiatives are a great way of developing leaders, more needs to happen for leadership attitudes and behaviours to be deeply ingrained in the day-to-day interactions and way of thinking of the employees. It must become a seamless practice and part of the cultural motif.
One way to propagate and sustain the learnings in house is through structured formal mentoring programs. There are abundant benefits of a work environment that actively supports mentoring.
The purpose of mentoring is to transfer the lessons of richer experience namely knowledge, skill, processes, etc. in a workforce to improve the capability of other individuals or workgroups. To initiate and sustain a meaningful mentoring process certain steps need to be followed.
1. Build a solid business case for mentoring
To institutionalise mentoring, it must be looked as critical strategy to improve employee engagement, accelerate career development, groom leaders and perpetuate a learning culture. It may not apply in every case. The reasons for implementing a mentoring program must be linked to your company’s business goals. The reasons for dedicating effort and resources to a formal mentoring process must be justified.
2. Have a Clear Mentoring Plan
All the stake holders including the executive teams need to be part of planning the vision, defining strategy and objectives for the formal mentoring process. Usually a committee is set up to ensure the execution happens smoothly. The purpose and goals of this exercise should be clear to all. The expected outcome of the program should be made clear to the mentors and mentees too. The criteria for selecting mentors and mentees needs to be chalked out.
3. Selection of the participants
There has to be a mechanism in place to select the right mentors and mentees. And further the matching of each. Mentors should be people truly interested in the development of others. Mentees should be eager to learn and grateful for the opportunity. Good mentee candidates are those who have demonstrated clear evidence of future leadership. For the program to be effective, mentors and mentees must participate voluntarily and willingly.
4. Preparing the participants
A good mentoring program builds in formal orientation for mentors to equip them with the skill set required to establish and sustain a successful learning partnership with a mentee. This training must clarify the difference between mentoring and managing. There is a lot of learning and unlearning that a mentor will have to do to perform this role effectively. Provide the tools and resources that the participants will need in this journey. Mentees will have to learn how to take charge of their own learning, evaluate the areas where they will employ help from their mentors. Mentees will need to understand that having a mentor does not guarantee a promotion.
5. Pairing the mentors and mentees
Several criteria could be used to pair up the mentors and mentees, A formal mentoring agreement may be created to refer to throughout the process. The agreement must include the goals and objectives of both the mentee and the mentor. The timelines, dos and don’ts and the how toss should be spelled out clearly including how and when they will meet, and a confidentiality agreement.6. Measure the progress
The proof of a successful mentoring program lies in measuring the impact of the program in two ways. The first is the extent to which the process has helped the mentee in achieving their developmental goals that were defined at the beginning of the program. The second is the degree to which the program was successful in achieving the strategic business goals, for example improved engagement or the developing leaders. Such programs usually close the mentoring relationship formally. The mentor and mentees may continue the relationship formally or informally in future if it serves them both well.Formal mentoring works best in an organisation where people development and organisational learning are supported and nurtured by leadership at all levels. Source http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/organisational-techniques-for-institutionalising-mentoring/