Of 'murse' and gold chains

Men who wear gold will no longer be dismissed as lovers for bling

I was getting ready to head out to a concert when I picked up my little leather bag. My son noticed it and said, “So you too carry a murse!”. I asked him what he meant, and he explained that a “man’s purse” was a “murse”. Very funny, I mumbled, and headed out.

The Vanity Fair magazine coined the term “metrosexual” two decades ago to capture a new trend among young men. A metrosexual, according to Vanity Fair, was a man who moisturised and read a lot of magazines; two traits till then largely confined to the fairer sex. 

It is probably time to add a few more qualifiers: This person probably carries a nippy little bag and sports a few items of jewellery on his much moisturised body.

“Gentlemen, show your metal”, screams a new ad from Tanishq, exhorting men to pick up and wear jewellery, to enhance their “confidence, charisma and charm”. The ad presents a whole range of jewellery made for the Indian metrosexual male: kadas, rings, bracelets, chains. In fact, Tanishq has created a new brand, Aveer, to cater to this audience. 

Unfortunately, a lone wolf cannot create much noise. Most ads in luxury magazines [for men] represent luxury watches, mobile phones and cars with an occasional one for luxury bags and premium neckwear. I wonder when we will see more jewellery brands embracing the male consumer. 

Till now, men who wore gold were dismissed as lovers of bling. In some movies, they were the villains or the goondas who got bashed up by the hero. You might recall that the goons sent out to protect Deepika Padukone in the movie Chennai Express were all wearing many kilos of gold. This is about to change and quite fast, I think. 

The global accessories and handbags market is estimated at around $40 billion of which men’s accessories account for 18 per cent and is growing fast. Global luxury brands are seeing an opportunity and are rapidly entering the space. Super luxury brands like Gucci, Hermes, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana are all opening ‘men-only’ stores. Coach, yet another global luxury brand, reported that the contribution of the men’s range went up from 9 per cent to 12 per cent between 2012 and 2014. A steep increase indeed. 

Indian jewellery brands are looking at a huge opportunity if they can unlock the male consumer’s desire to sport jewels. They will be able to sell a lot of stuff at a rather fast pace. Luxury watch makers have been making hay selling premium watches to the same gent. So why not an expensive gold bracelet? Wearing a gold chain was seen as a sign of wealth all over India (in rural Tamil Nadu male chains are referred to as ‘minor chains’ or the landlord’s minor son’s favorite ornament). 

I believe Tanishq might be on to something with its Aveer brand. Most Indian jewellery brands are chasing the marriage market and are yet to get a handle on the men’s segment. It is true that Indian males have always worn jewellery, from chains to rings to bracelets. But these need to be reinterpreted for the affluent millennial metrosexual male. 

The beard that was once seen as the sign of an unkempt male is now seen as a symbol of sophistication. We even have a range of beard lotions and moisturisers. 
 

That said, men and women inherently shop very differently (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray takes a lighthearted view of the differences between men and women]. Men walk into a store, buy three shirts and walk out, all in five minutes. If they enter with their spouse the same process may take an hour. Cut to the woman. She very rarely walks in, buys and walk out. She does a thorough job of checking the colour, texture, cut, feel. She has to try a few outfits before she thinks about (let alone buy) a dress. Often they want to visit a few stores before making the final purchase. Most men buy fast. And they often buy pretty standard stuff. The millennial may go through a more elaborate purchase cycle, I admit. 

I am sure the folks at Tanishq are working overtime to get males to walk in to their showrooms. If they open a ‘Men Only’ store, it may end up selling more gold per square foot per month than the regular Tanishq showrooms. 

The author is an independent brand strategist, author and founder of Brand-Building.com. Email: ambimgp@brandbuilding.com