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Where quality reigns supreme: How brand Tanishq has evolved over the years

Aditya Singh, head of jewellery, Tanishq International Business, tells us what goes into keeping the designs fresh and attractive to customers across demographics

The new Tanishq store in Al Fahidi is a sight difficult to miss. The 2,000-plus square foot store houses gold and diamond jewellery that is just as popular among millennials as it is among the Gen-Z. Over the years, the brand has launched several collections — Rifa, Alekhya, Utsaah and Colour Me Joy — each a testament to Tanishq’s ability to keep its ear to the ground to understand how customers are actually evolving. Be it craftsmanship or the quality of jewellery, the brand has something for everyone, a fact reiterated by Aditya Singh, head of jewellery, Tanishq International Business, Titan Company Limited, during a conversation with wknd. Edited excerpts from an interview:

Over the years, Tanishq has acquired a reputation of being a brand with an impeccable quality. How do you ensure certain standards are met?

That’s true — and we take a lot of pride in our quality. Generally, there are country-specific guidelines in jewellery, for example, hallmark in gold jewellery. At Tanishq, we have put very stringent principles in place at multiple steps. Since we are an end-to-end vertically aligned player, that means we don’t just retail, but for us, it starts at consumer research, that leads to jewellery design, then manufacturing, retail, omnipresence, after sales... and the cycle continues. By being vertically integrated across the value chain, we are able to understand emerging trends in customer taste in jewellery and, therefore, we are able to put in quality measures that match emergent expectations, and not just limit ourselves to statutory requirements. On the diamond side at Tanishq, the 4Cs grading of the stone is done before setting it in a piece of jewellery as against some other retailers, who do the grading after setting the stone, giving inaccurate results. In post-mounting grading, the reflection is improper and inclusions are not clearly visible. In fact, I would encourage all the readers to ask their jeweller about this. Tanishq diamonds undergo more than 50 quality tests before they come to you.

The Tanishq Promises campaign raises the bar for craftsmanship. How has this aesthetic evolved over the years?

When we started our journey in mid-90s, the way jewellery was being manufactured in the industry was not really the right kind of workplace — there was a small room, with fumes and hence it was unsafe. At Tanishq, we focused on bringing the dignity as well as safe working conditions for the artisans and created what we called Karigar (artisan) Park with airconditioned halls, natural lighting, all safety measures in place. We also trained local artisans on craftsmanship. As you would know, there are different kinds of workmanship associated with different places. For example, there is something called Italian design, and then there is the Moroccan design, the Calcutta filigree work, Jaipur enamel work and so on. These designs/patterns are unique to these pockets. At Tanishq, we go to those regions, choose the best craftsmen and either get them to karigar parks or work with them locally through our partner suppliers. This is how we ensure we are aligned with the best craftsmen and keep evolving the aesthetics.

How strategically important are store locations for you?

In retail, location is important. Our new Al Fahidi store is critical to us. When we entered this market in 2020, we were amazed to observe that in the UAE, specifically in Dubai, there are pockets where within a span of, say, 500 metres, you can see multiple stores of same brands. We have more than 400 stores in India, and I don’t think any two of our stores are so close to each other. Initially, it was intriguing for us. But over the years, we observed that consumers coming to these stores were completely different. Our Al Fahidi store is less than 500 metres away from our other store in Meena Bazar, which was our first in the region. Al Fahidi was very critical for us for two reasons — one, it is a highly tourist-driven zone. Right ahead, we have Al Seef and on the other side, we have the Old Souk. When you go to the Meena Bazar store, it is more frequented by resident customers. For a city that attracts so many tourists, it was important for us to be present on this street.

Your clientele has diversified lately to include a lot more Arab clients. Do your designs take inspiration from Arab motifs?

We have been in this region for the past three years, and during this time, we have launched two collections that are inspired by Arabic motifs. The first collection’s launch coincided with UAE’s 50th year celebrations. Subsequently, last year, we came up with a collection which was inspired by the eight-pointed star motif that we see all across. To get inspiration, our design team actually flies down and visits different landmarks — museums, mosques, places of architectural interest — and figures out the common motif emerging from these places. That symbol should not just be important to people, but also has to mean so much more from the design language perspective. Both the collections were well-received not only by our Arabic customers, but others too. People from abroad find it a beautiful souvenir for the region. I can proudly say, over the past three years, we have served 55 nationalities.

What are the buying patterns you have observed among Gen-Z?

During our first year, we weren’t getting a lot of Gen-Z buyers, probably because the brand connotes serious jewellery. Since then, two things have happened: we have introduced collections as well as campaigns targeted at younger audience, based on our detailed understanding of this customer group. Some of our observations have been that one can’t define Gen-Z as one coherent group. There are various sub-groups within them. Some Gen-Z buy it to reflect their attitude and personality, some to match their work, some as investment and some do so based on peer feedback.

The Impressions of Nature collection is striking.

Thanks. Indeed, it is. It’s our latest launch. We have taken inspiration from nature for the same. Typically, Dubai Summer Surprises and Abu Dhabi Summer Surprises are seen as discount-driven periods. We are launching this fresh collection called Impressions of Nature, which reminds one of summer. We have, quite literally, casted impressions of nature on pieces of jewellery. We have sweetened the deal for customer with attractive discounts on the collection as well as industry-leading exchange offer on old gold. Our regular customers are truly benefiting from our diamond exchange policy by upgrading their stones, time to time. Proud to mention about our global exchange policy. You can buy from us in UAE, exchange at our stores in US or India at any Tanishq stores.

Tanishq’s last exhibition was called Ethereal Wonders, which featured a lot of heirloom jewellery. What is the reason behind the popularity of heirloom jewellery?

Ethereal wonders was our exhibition, which was brought to the region, for the first time, some rarest of the rare gemstones and diamond jewellery. We did this understanding the demand of our HNI customers. This brings to the fore existence of customers who are looking for heirloom jewellery as well as the evolution of customers over their life cycle. For example, there is a certain regular jewellery that you will wear on an everyday basis, and then there is jewellery that you will wear on a certain occasion. And then there is heirloom jewellery, something that you will proudly pass on to future generations.

Post-pandemic, have you noticed a surge of interest in work jewellery?

Definitely. During the pandemic, there was the need for ‘above-the-desk’ jewellery, for use during video call. However, as soon as the UAE opened up, people started going back to offices. And because they’d been cut off for a certain period of time, they wanted to convey ‘I am still fit, young and charming’. What we are observing is that people now wear traditional jewellery to work and pair it in innovative ways. In fact, one collection that we are planning to launch is called fusion jewellery — something you can wear at office and then convert it to pair with an evening gown.

What does future look like for Tanishq?

As a brand, we stand for three things — superior quality of jewellery, coming up with different collections and customer experience. We will continue to focus on these three aspects while expanding our footprint in the region.

anamika@khaleejtimes.com