The morning session on Day Two of the third India Gold Jewellery Summit organised by the GJEPC in New Delhi turned the spotlight on the power of branding.

Industry consultant, Anil Prabhakar, moderated the panel on Creating Successful Brands. Amit Chaloo, a former LVMH brand consultant and advisor to international brands, laid stress on the power of storytelling, "Creating new brands involves strong customer relationship management, good design and quality, but most importantly it is about connecting with new customers. Be disruptive, and don't rest on your laurels. Tell your own story, in what you believe."

Sachin Jain, president, Forevermark India, said that it was time to ditch the buzzword ‘millennials’ as consumers of tomorrow are the Gen Z, who are less brand loyal and less category loyal. The new thought among retailers from different sectors is: “What Amazon Cannot Do”, he said, adding, "One has to enhance experiential purchasing. In collaboration with Forevermark, our retail partners have several interactive, touch screen machines that consumers can themselves engage with while shopping – for instance, we have kiosks that allow a consumer to make her own set of stackable rings. Customers today love to have an interface with the product. Responsible sourcing is another pet theme of today's consumers that creates engaging conversations,” he remarked.

Dr Ruppal Sharma, professor of marketing and head, SPJIMR, Delhi, noted that one is seeing democratisation of luxury, and there is a lot of opportunity and space for brands, especially regional brands, to occupy centre stage. She also highlighted that it is important in the inception stage to define the core value of the brand and what it stands for. Millennials are looking at conscientious brands. “People buy you for why you do rather than what you do.”

Saurabh Gadgil, chairman and managing director, PNG Jewellers, said that the idea is to reach out to new customers and ideate tactical campaigns. He just starred in his company’s TVC, which shows him wearing platinum jewellery for men. “It helps in creating a strong connect with my clients,” he said.

Chandu Siroya, vice chairman, Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group, DGJG, noted that Dubai is a collective brand. He reminisced about how the Dubai shopping fest became a catalyst for all the trades there. The jewellers came together and decided to give away one kilo of gold daily to a lucky customer. “This was the hero of our festival and drove sales. So far, we have given away 900 kilos of gold.” He harped on the benefits of collective promotion to push the sale of jewellery. The efforts bore the desired result, and today, Dubai is the jewellery destination for the entire world.

All panellists agreed that the need of the hour is to have a mega jewellery festival for consumers.

Tawhid Abdulla, CEO, Jawhara Jewellery and chairman, DGJG, concluded that it is imperative to believe in your brand. “Trust yourself and stay motivated. Be your own brand; you may be a small brand but be a little specialised and reach out to youngsters through various social media channels.”

Earlier, the day started with a talk by Vijay Batra, a renowned motivational speaker in the corporate world, who offered a unique and rousing narrative of Indian and Japanese cultural habits that could help in furthering one’s business and bettering oneself in the process. He laid stress on the importance of being supportive towards your family, extended family, business associates and employees. “Be prepared for the future, always, and be willing to learn. Don't make excuses for failures. Learn from each other, cooperate and ask for help," he concluded.

Pic caption: The Panel Discussion on Creating Successful Brands