Going for gold

MY BIG IDEA

Goyal: sparkling success

For K B Goyal it seemed like an obvious choice. He had just graduated from university in Jaipur and was scouting around for a business opportunity. "Jaipur is the centre for gems and jewellery so it seemed natural," he says.

Once he had chosen the field, Goyal, the son of a bank manager studied it carefully before making his moves. He started Dwarka Jewellers with an initial investment of Rs 2.5 lakh.

The company which started as an export unit for gems and jewellery today has four outlets in India with over 400 artisans turning out an array of contemporary and traditional pieces. The company posted a turnover of Rs 40 crore last year.

I always wanted to get into business because I knew that was the only way I could grow. I decided to enter the jewellery business as I was impressed by a friend of my father's who used to sell silver jewellery to foreign tourists and his business was flourishing.

So in 1983, I started exploring the silver jewellery market. I wasn't retailing in India but was selling only to international clients who came to me and ordered several pieces of jewellery. For a couple of years, I never went searching for clients but waited for them to come to me.

However, in 1985 I felt that I needed to hunt for clients if I really wanted to grow. So I participated in a jewellery show in Milan, Italy. However, this show was for consumers and not for retailers. So although, I had spot sales I did not get any clients. But it gave me an insight into the kind of jewellery which was in demand.

In 1987 I started operations under the brand name Dwarka Jewellers and also decided to expand my product line. Jaipur is the centre for gems and jewellery and I realised there was huge potential in this line of business. Export of gems seemed like an obvious choice.

I got my first big client by God's grace. He was a European jeweller who was looking for gems. The taxi driver brought him to my office. He placed an order of Rs 1.5 lakh.

That year I also participated in another show in Milan. The show was for wholesalers and retailers and I got plenty of orders.

For the next few years I concentrated on the export business. I had not set up my own manufacturing unit. Instead I used sub-contract it and get pieces made by different artisans.

In the early 90s, an Italian client of mine insisted that I should set up my own manufacturing unit in India as labour costs were much cheaper here.

So I set up a small unit in Jaipur with just eight or nine artisans. My client gave us our first design. It was a diamond brooch. But he didn't buy it because he thought it was too expensive. It turned out to be good for us for another client bought it for double the price.

That was the beginning. We started manufacturing more but it was always made keeping the foreign client in mind. Nearly 75 per cent of our sales at that time came from Italy, and the remaining from France and UK.

An year or so later, another client of mine from Italy agreed to train my artisans in exchange for getting his own manufacturing done here. So for the next couple of years, my artisans were trained in the intricacies of diamond studded jewellery.

In 1995 I finally decided to enter the domestic market. I converted a part of my corporate office into a retail outlet. I was a bit apprehensive about whether international designs would go down well with the Indian customers. But they were a success.

This gave me the confidence and in 2000 I set up a 18,000 sq ft manufacturing unit in Jaipur. Now I manufacture not only contemporary jewellery but also traditional jewellery in gold and kundan.

Today I have one store in Jaipur and three franchised outlets in Delhi, Ganganagar and Jodhpur. I have also recently opened an office in New York.

Nearly 65 per cent of my sales today come from the domestic market of which almost 50 per cent are traditional jewellery.

I plan to open around 22 to 25 franchised outlets across the country by 2008 and hope to start retailing under my own brand name in the US by the end of the decade.