Gitanjali was set up in 1966 as a diamond cutting and polishing business in Surat. The group achieved international recognition as a quality manufacturer; and was appointed DTC Sightholder soon afterwards. By the 1980s and 90s it had forward integrated into diamond jewellery manufacturing and won over 50 awards from the Ministry of Commerce,India and other recognized associations, for its success on this front. In 1994, the Group, launched Gili, India’s first jewellery brand, sparking a new phase of growth. Subsequently it has launched a wide range of new brands and also retails various luxury accessories, advancing steadily to its current stature as the world’s largest branded jewellery manufacturer-retailer, with a turnover of over U.S. $3 billion in financial year 2013. With rapid expansion in India; the company penetrated Tier II and III towns in a big way using primarily franchisee route; developed multiple retail strategies. The product portfolio had new additions in the form of luxury products like high end watches, writing instruments and apparels
Blaze to Brilliance
The company registered a steady growth in turnover with a CAGR of over 30% in last three financial years to cross U.S. $3 bn in FY’13. The Group has over 4,000 retail points of sale, including the metros, Tier II and Tier III cities. The Group has a strong presence in all five largest jewellery markets in the world – India, U.S., Japan, Middle East and China. Further, new regions are being explored and entry plans drawn up for markets in South and South East Asia,Russia, Africa, East Europe. A clearly defined strategy and a unique business model with integration across the value chain, has enabled Gitanjali Group to carve a special niche for itself – and it is today recognized for its array of brands, each catering to specific needs and segments, quality products and an aggressive marketing and promotional strategy. Innovative strategies based on a deep understanding of consumer and market dynamics have also been a differentiating factor.
Faith Factor
Faith in the company is instilled by their transparent way of working which helps build trust and confidence. The brand only retails BIS hallmarked gold jewellery and diamond jewellery certified by reputed top International Diamond laboratories. Another USP is constant innovation through continuous development of new brands to satisfy perceived consumer needs and address niche segments. In the 1990s they adopted a new strategy of developing jewellery brands rather than selling diamonds as a commodity by launching India’s first jewellery brand Gili, in 1994. Subsequently, the Group developed a large portfolio of over 30 jewellery brands catering to different consumer needs and segments foraying into jewellery retail. First overseas acquisition was made in 2006 – US jewellery chain Samuels Jewelers Inc; and acquired a number of premium jewellery brands such as Stefan Hafner, Valente, Io Si, Poratti and others in Italy, and has a fast developing presence in China, the Middle East and other new markets. Over the last two decades, the Group has expanded operations in USA, UK, Belgium, Italy and the Middle East to China, Singapore and Japan.
The company believes in incessant evolution of innovative retail channels to reach out to consumers; ultimately adding more value to the already well established brand equity of the Gitanjali group.
Engagement that Enthralls
Gitanjali Group has leading Bollywood stars like Shahrukh Khan,Salman Khan,Katrina Kaif,Priyanka Chopra,Anushka Sharma,Sonakshi Sinha, Bipasha Basu and many others as their brand ambassadors for their various product offerings. This kind of an association with leading celebrities who have reached the zenith of stardom & have a huge fan following & wide mass appeal helps brand recall and recognition. The group has always engaged in extensive marketing for brand building and consolidation. Gitanjali is easily the largest advertiser in category through print, electronic and social media, associations and tie ups with ground level events like fashion shows, regular PR have all made brands of Gitanjali one of the most widely recognized jewellery brands in the country.
InnovEdge
Innovation has always been a cornerstone of Gitanjali’s business strategy. To give a few examples – the company had launched India’s first jewellery brand Gili, in 1994, they were among the early movers in branded retail with D’damas in 2003.
Among the first ones to retail BIS hallmarked gold and certified diamond jewellery. Introduced the concept of MRP based pricing for jewellery. Breaking the traditional mode of jewellery sales, the Group started selling jewellery through shop-in shops in lifestyle and department stores like Shoppers Stop and others. Early entrants into the field of E-commerce by launching online jewellery portal and also introducing E –franchisee – first of its concept in India.
They pioneered the launch of the first ever Gold & Diamond ATM in the world and so on. There have also been numerous product innovations – the world’s smallest heart shaped diamond, patented cuts and techniques of setting diamonds in products of different shapes – cricket ball, chess set, perfume bottle lid etc; and creative associations and tie-ups that gave jewellery in general and Gitanjali in particular, a strong presence in the world of lifestyle luxury. Today, the Group has moved towards brand extensions – mainly in the women’s apparel segment by launching Gili Apparels and Diya Apparels.
Brand Promise
Integrity, Solidarity, Credibility and Perfection – these are the fundamentals of Gitanjali’s working philosophy as it impacts business and employee relations, transparency of operations and quality assurance, on the way to creating a globally valued organization. Gitanjali stands for Trust and Assurance, a legacy that has been established and created over nearly five decades of the company. This has been achieved through various means, including transparent pricing, use of BIS hallmarked gold and diamonds certified by reputed international laboratories.
Today a complete product is available from this brand due to the multi faceted abilities of the company which has a business model which integrates all operations, from rough diamond sourcing, cutting, polishing and distribution, and jewellery manufacture, to jewellery branding and retail, as well as global lifestyle brands, in India and abroad. The group works towards becoming the world’s leading manufacturer – retailer of branded jewellery, with a strong, globally diversified infrastructure and integrated operations efficiently linking diamonds from rough to retail.
The Group has 3 world-class diamond polishing facilities in India possessing production capacity of 4,00,000 stones a month. Domestic jewellery manufacturing facilities are located at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Surat and Jaipur that produce 2,35,000 pieces of finished jewellery each month, while international manufacturing set up is in Bangkok and China. The Group’s international design hub is located in Italy.
