The boutique had five jewellery counters, and we had one RSO handling each. Being a small brand then, we didn’t have many walk-ins. With no store manager or cashier, I spent my free time learning the ropes of the business, like stock-taking, indenting, billing, and POS updation. In one and a half years, I was made the store manager.
In the early days, we did our own retail marketing to generate walk-ins to our store. We went out into the apartment complexes, conducted GHS camps, and showcased jewellery. While we had little success in sales, we received invaluable feedback from customers about our designs and range. They perceived us as trinket-y, westernised, and with very little cultural relevance.
In 2002, when we launched the Karatmeter in our store, there was a revolt from jewellers, who came in large numbers to protest. It was unruly, ugly. Some would barge in and demand an explanation of how we were certifying our gold purity. While I was scared, I was also truthful with whoever sought to understand, giving them detailed information on our scientific process. We had disrupted market practices, and consumers soon began to trust our proposition. We had never seen the kind of old gold exchange that followed. Consumers would walk in with potlis full of old gold and say, “Melt karo”!
