Jewellery business set for major transformation

Manipal, Aug 14: The jewellery business is all set to transform in the coming years and earn the status of industry by organising itself, Titan Industries Limited, Bangalore, V Govindraj, Vice-President (retail and marketing) V Govindraj predicted today.

Delivering the keynote address at the second induction programme of Manipal Institute of Jewellery Management (MIJM) here, he said the jewellery business, which had immense scope, would get organised like the apparel and other industries with specialisation being available in the areas of design, manufacturing, marketing, merchandising, retail operations, supply chain management and support functions like human relations management, finance and commercial and information technology.

He said ''the jewellery industry has traditionally seen owners managing the business. Howver, when the transformation takes place, ownership will have to separate itself from management, resulting in a demand for professionals who are specialised in various aspects of the industry.'' Mr Govindraj said India was the largest consumer of gold with an annual consumption of 700 tonnes. Though the jewellery business accounted for almost 90 per cent of the consumption, it was not yet recognised as an industry, primarily because of the fragmented nature of the business.

However, the scene had changed in the recent years with the entry of national retail chains in the sector. India had also recently seen the entry of organised retail industry with the arrival of retail chains like Shoppers Stop. Westside, Pantaloon and Big Bazaar. There was a paradigm shift in the functioning of the sector and a major transformation was on the cards, he added.

Mr Govindaraj announced that Tanishq would recruit qualified candidates from the MIJM, the first institute in the country to offer BBA degree in jewellery design and management.

Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) Registrar H Vinod Bhat informed that the deemed university was planning to start an integrated school of designs, including engineering, product, fashion and jewellery designs, within the next four months.

UNI