PRASAD KAPRE, CEO and director of Style Quotient and official licensee of Being Human Jewellery, talks to Solitaire about the future growth plans of the brand.
Being Human has just opened its first exclusive jewellery franchise store. However, the Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 price bracket is more suited to online sales, so why go the physical route?
Actually, we now have over 1,000 designs from R5,000 to R100,000. Most consumers do not usually have complete clarity of what they intend to buy and the experience of buying jewellery in stores is very hard to replicate on websites.
Jewellery buying has always been a tradition in India where families visit a jeweller to purchase anything from a ring to heavy jewellery for occasions. And when a consumer is spending more than R20,000, the “touch and feel” factor of the product also becomes important even though they can always return the product after purchase. Consumers are keen on seeking experience, since it is a Salman Khan brand. They are curious to see the store.
Which are the popular markets for Being Human jewellery? Why was Chandigarh chosen as the location for the first bricks-andmortar store?
Chandigarh was chosen as the first location as it is a very brand-conscious city; people there are very stylish, and have a cosmopolitan outlook and are globe-trotting consumers. Salman has a huge following in India, especially Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, the locations of our upcoming bricks-and-mortar stores.
Please elaborate on Being Human’s “aggressive” growth plan for the near future.
By the end of this financial year, we intend on opening eight exclusive brand outlets in India. We intend to have 100 such outlets in the next 4-5 years. Moreover, we already are available in 40 jewellery stores across India through shop-in-shop tie-ups. We intend to increase our shop-in-shop presence to 200 jewellery stores in the next three years. We have already appointed a few distributors and are now looking for more such distributors at specific locations across the country. Also, we will soon be seen on e-commerce websites where we will only offer specific product lines.
How many collections are launched by the brand each year? Do you have any specific method of gauging current market trends for designing jewellery? What is the brand’s core target audience?
Our target audience is the modern Indian woman who likes wearing contemporary jewellery designs. She embodies ease, swag and elegance. She wears jewellery that is multi-functional and can be worn at both work and at parties. Our jewellery has a fusion Indo-Western look. We follow international trends to determine the designs of our upcoming jewellery collections as we cater to millennials who prefer lightweight, trendy jewellery pieces. Keeping this in mind, we launch 3-4 collections every quarter.
Does Being Human jewellery have greater appeal among socially conscious millennials? Tell us more about the company’s CSR activities in relation to jewellery.
This generation has been deemed more socially responsible than its predecessors and is eager to demonstrate this publicly through their buying habits. Products with better sustainability credentials will gain a greater competitive advantage over those with less sustainable practices. The Being Human Foundation supports the twin causes of education and health care for the underprivileged. Therefore, part proceeds from the sale of each piece of jewellery helps shape a life through education or helps save a life through health care.