"Weddings have changed, but jewellery remains an important part": Ranjani Krishnaswamy, Tanishq

The Coronavirus pandemic has been a difficult time for businesses, but Tanishq has been finding ways to keep busy. During the pandemic, the retail jewellery chain upgraded its business strategies digitally.

It also launched 'phygital' features, like video calling, virtual jewellery try-ons, real-time live assisted chat, and appointment bookings powered by augmented reality (AR) at all of its 341 stores across India. The jewellery is also sanitised under UV lights to make it safe for users to try on.

With emerging and continuous trends, like digital and remote buying, the new features will further enable Tanishq’s omni-channel efforts for the upcoming festive season. Tanishq has just launched a new campaign to highlight the new line of jewellery and celebrate the idea of unity.

In a press note, Arun Narayan, VP, category, marketing and retail, Tanishq, Titan Company, said, “The past six months have made us realise a few things through the selfless acts of our people across the country, and our own experiences dealing with the many challenges of these times. 'Oneness' is a key essence of humanity. It is paramount to come together as one to help each other rebuild and prevail over these challenges."

He adds that Tanishq's new 'Ekatvam' collection is a confluence of various art forms from all over the country. It features the artistry of the country's best 'karigars' across craft centres, bringing alive the central thought of 'beauty of oneness'.

"Importantly, this collection, we believe, will help rebuild the livelihoods of our jewellery 'karigars' across India, and illuminate their homes this Diwali," says Narayan.

Ranjani Krishnaswamy, general manager, marketing, Tanishq, Titan Company, told afaqs! that the intent was to have the commercial play out like a soap opera in scenes.

“The pandemic has been a very interesting tryst with destiny, and it's important to connect emotionally with the audience at this time. We want this to be a clarion call to our consumers to fight against the pandemic together.”

She adds that the craftsmen and those who made and designed the jewellery were the ones who suffered the most. So, it was the company’s priority to support them with financial and healthcare initiatives.

Krishnaswamy says that there was an advantage that the company had, as gold was considered an asset, irrespective of the pandemic/recession situation.

"Weddings have changed, but jewellery remains one of the most important parts (for a bride). So, that aspect of weddings has not changed. We also saw that a lot of weddings were postponed because of the pandemic, so we're hoping to see an uptick in consumption in Q3 (October-December, 2020-21) and Q4 (January-March) as they resume."

Krishnaswamy says that where jewellery has either had ritualistic meaning, or is seen as an asset - it has held meaning, either in terms of the celebration of a milestone, or in the context of gifting during festivals.

"Ritualistic consumption is when people buy gold, or jewellery for 'pujas' and other occasions. Festival wear is an occasion like Diwali. Daily wear and discretionary purchases are what has been affected by the pandemic, but we are seeing close to 75 per cent buyer recovery," she claims.

"We've been able to get a lot of buyers back in the market, whenever it was optional, wherever it was discretionary is certainly been impacted by what's happening," she concludes, hoping for optimistic results in upcoming quarters.