Tanishq, the first jewellery retail brand in India, is from Titan Company Ltd (Tata Group). Headquartered in Bengaluru, it is one of the largest and most successful brands in the Indian jewellery market today.
Why did Titan foray into the jewellery line? Its watch division had been doing excellent business but most of the components were imported. And when the Indian government faced a sudden setback in foreign currency reserves in the early 1990s, it called upon Titan to earn forex through some means to help fund its imports.
Titan looked at some options but the jewellery business was a natural choice as, globally, watchmaking and jewellery went hand in hand.
Titan opened a factory in Hosur, located strategically near its original watch-making unit, in 1992. Since the focus was on exports, European designers were hired; they duly churned out designs to please Westerners and Europeans and even produced ornamental watches. The name ‘Celeste’ was used to sell these products.
Rough start
But as global economy slowed down, Titan found that it could no longer compete in the international market. In the meantime, the situation in India improved, and Titan looked inwards to sell its products.
The name chosen for the Indian launch was ‘Tanishq’ and was a combination of ‘Ta’ which could stand for ‘Tata’ and ‘Tamil Nadu’ (the State government was co-promoter) and ‘Nishq’ meaning ‘piece of jewellery’.
It was a bold, not to say audacious, move from Titan and its founder, Xerxes Desai. The jewellery business in India had, till then, been run on traditional lines, with the ‘family jeweller’ concept deeply rooted in the people’s psyche. No corporate had till then ventured to break into this market.
Relying on the trusted Tata name and its tremendous experience, Titan opened the first Tanishq retail showroom in 1996, in Chennai. Relying on its western exposure, it offered precious, gem-studded 18-carat gold jewellery sets. The idea was to wean Indian women away from the 22-carat gold jewellery they were accustomed to, as it was not entirely suitable for holding diamonds and other precious stones. The fact that this gave the jeweller better margins also counted.
The Tanishq venture was initially a resounding failure, as women saw the 18-carat gold as inferior. Perhaps the westernised, plush interiors of the outlets, the European designs and dearth of plain gold ornaments on offer also put off potential customers. Either way, between 1996 and 2000, the brand reportedly lost more than ₹100 crore. Since the watch business also suffered a slight setback during this period, rumours were rife that Tanishq may shut shop.
The comeback
But the brand bounced back with a vengeance. Acknowledging its earlier mistake, it went back to 22-carat gold jewellery. It reverted to traditional Indian designs to woo customers. Most importantly, in a ground-breaking initiative, it introduced a karatmeter at all its outlets to check the purity of gold, and invited customers to walk in with any piece of jewellery and measure its purity for free. The move was accompanied by a sustained media campaign.
It was too irresistible an offer to miss, and women streamed in to check their gold ornaments made by, or bought from, the family jeweller. These extremely expensive machines were positioned such that the customers could see how they operated. Reportedly, about 60 per cent of them were shocked to discover that they had been cheated by their family jewellers.
Tanishq then sealed the customers’ trust by offering written guarantees of 22-carat gold in its jewels.
The time was ripe for consolidating this trust and transforming it into sales. Around this time, a change of guard at the helm of Tanishq brought in several new ideas. Since the brand was still seen by some as overpriced and too western, lightweight gold jewellery was introduced to make it more affordable. An exchange scheme was introduced. As revenues steadily climbed, a slew of advertisements was telecast, targeting the modern woman who is tradition-driven but not orthodox in her views. By 2005, Tanishq’s revenue rose to ₹500 crore. The brand had arrived.
The positive vibes created were further enhanced with the unique shopping experience the Tanishq outlets offered. The customer was even invited to visit the Hosur factory to see the jewellery being designed and made. Tie-ups with movies that required period pieces of jewellery — like Jodhaa Akbar and Padmaavat — brought the brand further into the limelight. Tanishq even designed crowns for the Miss India contests.
Wider variety, more factories
Transparency in every sphere has always been the hallmark of Tanishq and, in 2011, the brand decided to educate customers about diamonds (ethically sourced from certified suppliers), with a series of informative and humorous ads featuring Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan. As a result, sales of diamond jewellery spiralled upwards. Revenues shot up and it crossed the ₹5,000 crore mark.
Tanishq then took steps to remove the largely held misconception that the jewellery industry involved black money.
Today, the brand has over 5,000 designs in jewellery across various cultures and traditions of India and in its own patterns, targeting diverse occasions, age groups and mindsets. It serves around a million customers each year. Tanishq offers jewellery in plain gold, gem-studded, diamond settings and even platinum. Sub-brands include Mia for working women, Rivaah wedding jewellery and the recently launched men’s collection Aveer.
Apart from the Hosur factory, it has three manufacturing units at Sikkim, Dehradun and Pantnagar. All Tanishq products are available at retail showrooms across India — at 274 stores (226 of which are franchisees) in 160 cities. About 200 more retail outlets in around 130 small towns are planned over the next five years. Online shopping — through its own website or on Myntra and Amazon — is also possible.
All showrooms mandatorily follow a standard gold price since 2000, refusing to be influenced by local market swings.
CSR, awards and recognition
Tanishq has remained in the public consciousness through several initiatives such as workshops for educating customers about diamonds, partnering with widely different events like the Jaipur Literature Fest and Vogue Beauty Awards, and becoming exclusive jewellery partners for period movies. Its advertisements have generally been seen as progressive with a touch of the traditional, just what the doctor ordered for the Indian family scene.
The most important contribution of Tanishq has, however, not been for the customer; it has revived the respectability of the gold artisan’s trade. Working spaces have been improved to match modern offices, offering good ventilation and light and reducing irritants like dust and chemicals that karigars or artisans have long been exposed to. Health-care and financial aid is offered to all karigars . The change in the status of the craftsmen encouraged the next generation to continue in the same line of work.
Tanishq believes in being environment-friendly: it uses 40 per cent of recycled gold procured through exchange programmes for its jewellery. Renewable resources account for 30 per cent of the energy required for manufacturing; about 70 per cent of the water used is recycled. Even the carbon generated during manufacturing is converted to ink.
Along with two NGOs, it provides housing for 1,300 residents at Hosur.
Tanishq figures in the Top 100 franchise brands list from The Franchising World magazine. Its latest line of laser-cut tube jewellery has won for it the coveted ‘Red Dot Design Award’ for product design. It also won the 2018-19 ‘Brand of the Year’ award at the World Branding Awards in London.