|Tanishq: Positioning to capture Indian Women’s Heart |
|A Case Analysis |
|Submitted By: Amit Goel |
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|Word Count '' 1724 words |

Industry Overview:

i. India is the largest consumer of gold in the world to be followed by China and Japan. India is emerging as world's largest trading centre of this commodity with a target of US$ 16 bn. set for 2010. ii. Placed against targets to achieve 65 percent of the international market by 2010, India’s gem and jewellery industry has registered an impressive 21.33 percent growth in exports iii. India dominates the world’s cut and polished diamonds (CPD) market. In value terms, the country accounts for approximately 55 percent of global polished diamond market and nearly 9 percent of the jewellery market. According to GJEPC's provisional estimate, cut and polished diamonds registered 19.06 percent growth in exports at US$ 7.11 mn. iv. India accounts for 80-85 per cent of the world’s CPD market in volume terms, 55-60 per cent in value terms and about 90 per cent in unit terms. Other major players in the global CPD market are Belgium and Israel. v. Surat contributes 90 percent of India's total diamonds exports. vi. India's domestic branded jewellery market is estimated at US $150 bn. vii. There are 13 bullion importing banks in India. viii. India's Gem and Jewellery Exports Promotion Council (GJEPC) is aiming at turning India into an International Diamond Trading Centre. ix. Since India already enjoys 80-85 per cent of the world CPD market, scope for further growth in diamond exports is limited. Hence, if India's gems and jewellery sector is to substantially increase exports, the best bet lies in the jewellery sub-sector. Given the fact that the global market for stone-studded jewellery is expanding, there is scope for expansion in India’s diamond-studded jewellery exports as well. x. With or without diamond-studding, gold jewellery is a market where India has tremendous scope for export growth. India is the world’s biggest consumer of gold according to World Gold Council Statistics. However, India’s exports of gold jewellery (13 per cent of its total gem and jewellery exports) are negligible: less than 2 per cent of the US$ 80 bn global market. xi. Decades of insulation from the world markets has also not helped jewellery design evolution in India. India is by far behind Hong Kong, Italy and Germany in terms of jewellery design. This is another roadblock to exports. WGC has therefore introduced international jewellery designing competitions among the Indian artisans. xii. GJEPC expects 10 per cent annual growth in India's jewellery exports in coming years. This is the only area in the gems and jewellery sector where export growth potential exists since, as said above, India's CPD exports already accounts for 80-85 per cent of the global market, thus reducing the scope for further expansion. xiii. Customs duty on rough diamonds and colored gem stones, semi-processed, half-cut and broken diamonds has been abolished while that on cut & polished diamonds and colored gemstones has been reduced from 15% to 5%. The reduction in the customs duty on imported gold to Rs 100 (US$ 2) per 10 grams from Rs 250 (approx. US$5) is a step in the right direction, so thinks the industry.

Company Overview:

In 1984, Questar Investments Limited (a Tata group company) and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) jointly promoted Titan Watches Limited (Titan). Initially involved in the watches and clocks business, Titan later ventured into the jewellery businesses. In 1995, Titan changed its name from 'Titan Watches Ltd.' to 'Titan Industries Ltd.' in order to change its image from that of a watch manufacturer to that of a fashion accessories manufacturer. In the same year, it also started its jewellery division under the Tanishq brand.

Among the branded jewellery players in the Indian market, Tanishq is considered to be a trendsetter. When it was launched in 1995, Tanishq began with 18-carat jewellery. Realizing that such jewellery did not sell well in the domestic market, the 18-carat jewellery range was expanded to include 22 and 24-carat ornaments as well. When Tanishq was launched, it sold most of its products through multibrand stores. In 1998, Tanishq decided to set up its own chain of retail showrooms to create a distinctive brand image. By 2002, Tanishq retailed its jewellery through 53 exclusive stores across 41 cities. To meet increasing demand, Tanishq planned to open 125 stores by the end of 2009 and offer a range of 'wearable' products with prices starting at Rs. 400.

Tanishq is India's largest, most desirable and fastest growing jewellery brand in India. Tanishq today is India's most aspirational fine jewellery brand with an exquisite range of [pic]gold jewellery studded with diamonds or colored gems and a wide range of equally spectacular jewellery in 22Kt pure gold. Exquisite platinum jewellery and designer silverware is also part of the product range.

Tanishq promises superior quality jewellery with purity in gold. They claim and deliver the exact carats and weight that they promise. Impurity in gold and not delivering what was promised is one of the main problems the consumers face when going for gold purchase. Tanishq eliminated this and has built its brand in trust. Tanishq now stands for quality and purity. They even have gold meters where one can check the purity of gold.

It is first and only jeweler who guarantees the purity of its gold jewellery and certifies the quality of its diamonds and colored gems in writing. Thus it has established itself as a highly ethical player in a market that was rated as having the highest incidence of underkaratage (Bureau of Indian Standards).

Widely acknowledged as a design leader, Tanishq is known for its ability to develop specialized design collections. Tanishq is the only jeweler that houses a full-fledged design studio with a team of several international award winning Indian designers. Tanishq was recently adjudged the Most Admired Jewellery brand (for the third consecutive time) [pic]in India at the Images Fashion awards. It has also been judged as the Images Retailer of Year in the fashion category.

Distinctive positioning and customer experience. Yet another aspect of Tanishq that sets it apart is a whole new jewellery buying experience offered by its exclusive retail showrooms. Tanishq has not only developed a national retail chain with uniform and transparent practices and policies but also maintained consistency of retailing standards across all these showrooms on an ongoing basis.

It has a distinctive positioning [pic]in India as it is known for its high quality and jewellery with international standards. Also, since they have many stores across the country they give guarantee on their jewellery and also offer to repair it free of cost anywhere across the country.

Customer Overview:

There was always lack of trust among the consumers for their jewelers. Tanishq removed that with a promise of purity. Hence what it did [pic]in India it can replicate across the globe. Offer a totally new perspective to Jewellery buying especially when it comes to exquisite oriental jewellery.

Oriental Jewellery across the world is usually found in flea markets or place like China Town or Indian Markets. Going into the main markets in the Western world will give Tanishq the edge. The market can be segmented into two categories of customers:

• Customers who by gold for investment

• Customers who buy gold for embellishment

SWOT ANALYSIS

The Management Dilemma:

The firm has to choose between an established brand, Tanishq, and a new brand, GoldPlus, to go after the Indian plain gold jewelry market: Tanishq, initially targeted at a western customer, has undergone strategic retooling and has currently been repositioned to serve the "traditional yet modern" Indian woman. The brand still carries some baggage from its past. GoldPlus, on the other hand, is a new brand that is positioned to serve the plain gold wedding jewelry market. A variety of strategic, economic, organizational and brand investment reasons make the decision an important one.

Recommendations

i. India is a huge country, consisting of a wide variety of people having different income segments. The middle income group in India is yet not strong enough to sport branded jewellery. That is the only reason that they still prefer going to traditional jewelers. For Tanishq the company should carry on with the concept of GoldPlus, as it caters to this potential segment that cannot afford Tanishq but definitely aspire for it. This would not only help the company to retain and expand its customer base, but would also ensure that as and when this segment grows (as projected by many reports on Indian middle income group) would buy Tanishq only.

ii. Company has to be careful in retailing the GoldPlus brand, there should not be any mixing of the two brands in the same store, the GoldPlus stores should be separate and the store ambience should click to the minds of the target segment. The quality of service and designs should be at par so that the brand equity of Tanishq is not dissolved.

iii. As the communication strategy of the brand is very good there should not be any dissonance in the minds of the customers regarding GoldPlus and Tanishq.

iv. The return on investment for GoldPlus during first year was 19% as mentioned in Erode franchisee balance sheet, which depicts a good picture of the new business model by Titan group. The cumulative profit earned by each business model is much more than what it would be if it’s merged into a single business model. v. As the target segment for Tanishq and Gold Plus are very different from each other therefore the chances of cannibalization are rare. vi. The ROE of Tanishq as estimated in year 2011 is 90.60% while that of Gold Plus is 66%.To make this possible the company will have to follow a branded house strategy for both the brands. A branded house, when done properly, has an overarching reassurance to the customer that those that choose this BRAND share an attribute not a product attribute but an identifiable personal attribute that not only sets them apart but is integral to their own personal identification. Choosing such a brand is not necessarily a matter of showing off or display. Rather it is absolutely a means of self-discovery and personal fulfillment instead of having to rely solely on product attributes like in the house of brands model.