With a legacy that spans over 85 years, Senco Gold & Diamonds – one of the largest jewellery retail chains in India – has adapted with the times in tune with the changing tastes and aspirations of the Indian customer. Their strength, as per the company, is craftsmanship backed by the ideas and creativity that emphasizes on intricate designs. While Senco Gold & Diamonds is the main brand, the company has in its portfolio sub-brands such as, silver & fashion jewellery brand Gossip targeting young girls and its recent sub-brand launch, Finesse. With the company’s mission to be the destination for those who seek the finest in luxury, the House of Senco offers a curated selection. The House of Senco bring together luxury designs from its brands, which include the everyday trend-based fine jewellery brand, everlite priced from Rs15,000 onwards and targeting age groups from 20 to 50, men’s jewellery brand Aham; its luxury brand Sennes which consists of lab-grown diamonds, leather bags and fragrances targeting younger TG – all under one roof.
Joita Sen, Director & Head of Marketing and Design, Senco Gold & Diamonds says, “We cater to different verticals and the TG and requirements changes according to the vertical. Our campaigns are typically around how we make our jewellery, the ideas behind our designs because when someone comes to a jewellery store, you're coming for the designs. That is predominantly what drives the consumer preference.”
She continues, “Every month we release new designs, as today’s consumer is always looking for something different as we live in the world of social media. This is driving people to seek what new trends which are changing so quickly and international trends are influencing our designs. These consumers are updated, so we also have to update and upgrade our designs as per consumer demands. Consumers are looking at experiences and convenience like online or offline options.”
The Luxury Move
Senco Gold & Diamond launched its luxury vertical Sennes to replicate the business models of international brands that offer various products under roof. Sen says, “There isn’t an Indian brand that offers lab-grown diamonds, leather bags and French fragrances, under one roof. The younger generation is looking at Indian brands and are proud of Indian products.”
To tap into this generation, Sennes launched affordable lab-grown diamonds to cater to the consumers’ aspiration for diamonds. Sen says that typically any trend that starts in Europe and America makes its way to India about four to five years later. With lab-grown diamonds growing in these markets, people are learning and understanding about the process and efforts are being made to clear the confusion that exists in consumers’ minds. She states, “In the last five years, lab-grown diamonds have caught on with the consumers. The ultimate objective is to educate the consumers and provide them with something new. This is the future product.” With the lab-grown diamond markets growing globally and in India, consumers can expect to see existing jewellery brands and new brands entering this space. She continues, “In the next two years, lab-grown diamond will spread across the market. Once the customer understands the place of the natural diamond and lab-grown diamond and that both have their own space, it is not confusing. In terms of percentage, I foresee that say 40% of the market will be lab-grown diamonds in the next five years.” Another important factor is transparency with companies providing certificates to gain consumer trust.
The men’s jewellery brand Aham has been a “wonderful surprise” for Senco and follows the trend seen in the rise in men’s grooming category. Aham has actor Karthik Aryan as its brand ambassador who acts as a guide to men on how to wear jewellery and style themselves. Another noticeable trend is that men are now experimenting beyond the traditional bracelet and chain and are looking at finger rings and products, with men now also wanting to customize their jewellery pieces. Sen says, “Men’s jewellery has seen a 30% growth because the younger generation are willing to experiment with jewellery.”
The Design and Marketing Play
The focus on design forms the core of Senco Gold & Diamonds’ marketing campaign. For Valentine’s Day, Senco Gold & Diamonds released its campaign, “Expressions of love,” where the brand launched a berry inspired collection called Ice-cold collection which has princess cut diamonds to gift your loved ones. With innovative designs targeting youngsters, the campaign encourages consumers to talk about their love story. Sen says, “Valentine's Day is not just one day of expression of love, it is the accumulation of your relationship over the years. For people who have just fallen in love, the expression of love is what you expect from the love story going ahead.”
The jewellery major’s recent Women’s Day campaign, #SheForHer, celebrated the spirit of women to inspire, support, and uplift each other. The campaign highlighted the essence of solidarity and featured four women, each bringing expertise from their domain to educate and inspire. The essence of ‘She for Hers’ lies in encouraging women to take control of their financial well-being, understand their rights, and break barriers in professional spaces. The brand initiative includes a special knowledge-sharing series by Senco, ‘Be Knowledgeable. Be Empowered’, that featured Shivani Shah, Chartered Accountant & TedX Speaker, Abir Mukherjee, Senior Civil Lawyer, Subhashree Sen, CHRO, Senco Gold & Diamonds and also Joita,
A look at Senco Gold & Diamond’s media mix shows that Digital media is the higher spend area particularly to reach out and target interested consumers looking to buy jewellery. While the percentage allocated to traditional media is less it become important to reach consumers in Tier II and Tier III markets. Sen says, “Digital media now is extremely congested, so traditional mediums become effective and important as it is not as cluttered, because every brand cannot be on Television. Out-of-home also works as you are visually seeing the hoarding every day when you pass it. At the end of the day, no matter how much we innovate the core of human beings remain the same, we need a visual element to anchor us mentally. Traditional mediums are equally important, depending on what you want to promote at that time.”
Look Ahead
Looking back at the year, the lowering the customs duty on gold to 6% from 15% led to a surge of customers coming to the showrooms. Currently, Senco Gold & Diamonds has 170 showrooms spread across 91 cities with the East followed by the North being the strongest markets.
Looking ahead, Sen says the company is on an expansion mode. She says, “We have a roadmap for expansion. We have marked out which places we are looking at for our expansion and you can expect more stores near you for our different verticals, collections and designs. In the years to come, you will see Sennes stores near you as well as online, as we've launched our perfumes which has been well received well, our lab-grown diamonds, which will be the future of the market and leather bags.”
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