How Mia by Tanishq has grown the 14k and 18k jewellery market in India

Mia – ‘mine’ in Italian – is a fine jewellery brand from Tanishq that’s fashioned for women of today. The brand calls it the ‘Life Jewellery’ as they believe that their jewellery comes with a soul. The brand is known for its 14kt and 18kt gold jewellery pieces that are high in design, but low in price to suit each and every segment.  The pieces are high on practicality. The brand is immensely accessible with a presence across most Tanishq stores and has an independent network of over 150 stores across almost 40 cities.

In conversation with Adgully, Rajiv C Menon, National Head – Sales and Retail Operation, Mia by Tanishq, speaks about the growth of the brand, the challenge of popularising 14kt gold in a country where gold is looked as an investment, making the brand more sustainable, future vision, and more.

Please share your professional background and experience?

I have been in retail for almost 23 years now. I started in 1999 with two years of direct marketing. I have worked with a lot of good brands which were setting up – right from ITC Wills Lifestyle to Nokia to Apple to Spencer’s retail limited. Everywhere I’ve gone, I have been associated with new products and new categories. So, that has given me a lot of inputs on how do I synergize the strategies of different brands or different products and bring out the best in the brand I work in. I joined Titan in 2016 as a Regional Business Manager. I was based out of Chennai and after two years I moved to Bangalore again as a RBM for a different region. In 2021, I joined Mia as National Head for Sales, and Visual Merchandising.

What motivated you to join Mia, and how has your journey been so far?

Our brand has been under the big umbrella of Titan. Three years back, when the market started moving as well as booming, we saw that there is a potential for 14 karat and 18 karat Gold jewellery in the market. There has been a shift in which people earlier saw gold as traditional item. For ages it has been kind of an investment as earlier stocks and shares were unavailable. So, people invested in gold. Well, if you look at it today, a big percentage of people are working. Moreover, today a housewife feels that she also has an identity. With the attitudes of people changing, it has changed our perception of gold as well. Gold has become more of an adornment piece rather than a locker piece.

In a budget of Rs 15K to Rs 20K, a lady can wear a chain with five different pendants, making it 5 new chains, which would have been for more than Rs 1 lakh in traditional jewellery. So, that is where this process of reviving the brand or reviving the strategic category started for us. We got together and put our efforts on making it work. It was never a gamble for us as we were confident that the category was going to grow leaps and bounds.

How do you see the future of the jewellery industry, and what role do you envision Mia by Tanishq playing in it?

The jewellery industry is not controlled by any external factors. People will invest in jewellery because we still look at it as an investment. Even if I'm buying a 14 karat or an 18 karat which is not the traditional 24 karat Jewelry, it is an investment. I will get the value of the product anytime I sell it in future. So, jewellery market is something which remains untouched by external factor. During the pandemic also the segment wasn’t really affected badly.

However, being a part of a new segment, wherein 14kt and 18kt is not really known to consumers, this is a segment that has been coming out strongly, since diamonds are involved more in 14kt as well. This is a segment which is getting popular now. 14kt jewellery can act as an investment and for adornment as well.  If you buy jewellery in 22kt, it is just as an investment and a locker piece. However, if one buys a chain with pendant of 14kt or bangle, they are more wearable and can also be used for investment. There is a long way for the brand to grow, we have just scratched the surface and we feel that it is going to be one big thing in the coming years along with 18kt. So, diamonds and 14 karat and 18 carat jewellery is going to be big thing in communities. 

As a brand, Mia has almost grown 10 times in last three years. In our segment, adornment plays a key factor. Mostly ladies prefer to match their jewellery with their apparels and even to accentuate their looks. Earlier, traditional jewelry was not matched with looks. Today, people have an option of matching gold jewelry as there is an increase in disposable incomes, with most of the married couples working and growing awareness among the GenZ.

How does Mia stay ahead of industry trends and ensure its offerings remain innovative and appealing to customers? Could you share any recent innovations or initiatives that you are particularly proud of?

We are known for our designs. We have multiple collections released in a year and our collections are planned based on the trends in the international market. We have a team that works on international trends. Having said that, we are always one step ahead of the market in the thought process. An example, I would like to give is of “Sarang Hearts collections” inspired by Korean hearts, which is based on the K-Pop culture series. That’s there in our stores. It consists of an intricate pendant and beautiful earrings. I don’t see any other jeweller getting into that space today. So, we understand what’s happening in the market. Korean designs is a big thing in our country today with a lot of millennials hardcore fans of this Korean pops and all those things and Korean dramas are being with so we have a collection in that space.

We launched a collection during Diwali, called the “Starburst” collection, in the presence of actress Rakul Preet Singh, which was inspired by sun, moon, universe and all those things. So, our collections are always different from what the competition does.

What, in your opinion, sets Mia by Tanishq apart from other jewellery brands? How do you maintain and evolve the brand’s identity in a rapidly changing market?

I would call competition as a friend because they help us to improve market share or the fight. We always stand apart from them in terms of the look and feel of the product.

Moreover, we are unique in terms of our connect with the customers, which is very different. We started off with digital as a main campaign. Though we call ourselves a fine jewelry brand, we make sure that we reach out to all segments of people. It is not that we are focused or aligned on millennials only, our range of products speak a universal language.

Third is the retail experience. Our stores are very bright and very flamboyant and colourful in nature. Our team takes you to the entire story in the store when you walk in. Our connect with the customers are very different. Recently, we had a slogan writing contest, where customers were given a gift on writing a slogan. Beyond selling, we believe that the interaction at every level connect with every level is very important, so that customers look to us to see what next – that is how we have stayed ahead of ahead of the market. I believe that passion drives innovation in the fashion industry.

And last but not the least, we are a Tata brand. That keeps us ahead and it is easier for us as trust is there.

What challenges do you foresee in the jewellery industry, and how is Mia preparing to address them?

As I mentioned earlier, jewellery industry doesn’t have many challenges, as of today. I don’t see any challenge in the market and investment growing, all those things are taken care of. However, aspiration or expectation of the people are the biggest challenge, we will face because today people are talking about sustainability, people are talking about how the gold industry is tarnishing the nature, they are discussing about diamonds and the impact of carbon on nature, etc. Mia by Tanishq, as a brand, is a sustainable brand as we are moving towards sustainability. Most of our gold is recycled gold, customers come back to a jewellery shop and they get the gold exchanged as a mode of payment. A person comes with 10 gram gold, and buys something new, so we try and make a gold product by recycling and, therefore, it reduces waste, or recycling of water. This is a big part of our initiative. We want to be a brand that makes beautiful jewellery which can be worn every day without disturbing mother nature.

This takes care of the biggest challenge of sustainability. Few others, like keeping up with the competition, can be a challenge. We work on fine tuning ourselves every day on what trend we bring in, what collection we have, or what kind of interactive customer program we can churn out.

How does Mia prioritise and enhance the customer experience – both online and in physical stores? What kind of experiential retail does Mia offer?

If you look at Mia’s website, it is one of the best websites you will ever see. It is a very interactive website. While shopping on our website, customers get a different feel of jewellery shopping. It is all on the point of how customer wants to be guided on our website.

When we started making this website, we made it from the perspective of our customers. Whenever we design something, whenever we talk about some plans, we reach out to our retail sales officers. Those are the people who sell on the floor, we reach out to franchisees, we reach out to all the stakeholders and take input from them. That is one thing that replicates in most of our actions. Presently, customer can browse the product in our app, as our Omni-channel presence is very strong. We have a backend Omni-channel, which guides the customer from the online to offline space. So, sitting at your desk, you have a product at your desk, without moving as such.

What is your vision for Mia by Tanishq? Whare do you see it in five years? 

I would say we are opening at least about 50 to 75 outlets at an average in a year. So, in five years, I cannot say where we will be in terms of number of stores because the future of any brand is purely based on the response you get. I would say five years down the line, Mia would be the No. 1 player in terms of fine jewellery that is an aspiration all of us carry, this will be the brand that will be known to every Indian. And we would like to be present in all the markets. Even if it is a Tier 3 city or town, we would like to have a store of ours, where people can buy affordable fine jewellery, and they can own it. That would be the aspiration all of this carry with us. Numbers will be only a byproduct.