Tanishq to cross the 100-store mark by next year

Kolkata, Oct 8 (UNI) Tanishq, a Tata Enterprise Limited company, will cross the mark of 100 stores in the country by opening 10 more jewellery stores, including franchisee outlets, in Eastern India by 2008.

Talking to UNI at the launch of a festive collection from Tanishq, company's Regional Business Manager Dwaipayan Sen said, '' To cater to the requisite needs of exclusive designs in the eastern region, the company has decided to open 10 more stores.'' He said Tanishq already had 14 outlets in the region, including three in Kolkata, and would be opening another company store in Behala in the city's western part.

'' The eastern region comprises 15 per cent of the total jewellery market and about Rs 450 crore revenue is being earned from this region,'' he informed adding that they would be opening another store in Patna in the third week of October.

''Two franchisee stores will be set up at Haldia and Malda in the next six to eight months,'' Mr Sen added.

He also said the sales of the comapny shoots up from 15 to 100 per cent during festive seasons across the country and hence the company comes up with several schemes and attractive offers during this period.

Asked why the company focussed on franchisee outlets, Mr Sen said they were easier to open and did not need a large area.

Stating that 16-20 per cent of the company's jewellery is designed and crafted by goldsmiths of West Bengal, Mr Sen said they were targetting several rural areas of the state by opening their outlets.

''We are set to target the two-tier cities and have decided to launch better and easier schemes like gold harvest scheme by introducing Gold Plus, an affordable range of the product in the small towns and areas,'' Mr Sen said adding that the Gold Plus differed from Tanishq products in price and design.

UNI