Tata Group’s Mia to spread its shine via franchising

Tata Group's jewellery division, Tanishq, will open up to 25 standalone stores of its sub-brand 'Mia' by 2016. Mia was launched by Tanishq in 2011. Almost all stores will be franchisee run .Out of the 25 stand-alone stores; eight-nine stores will be opened in this fiscal year. Mia is targeted at working women. At present, there are three Mia stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune.

Sandeep Kulhalli, Senior Vice-President (Retail and Marketing) Jewellery Division, Tanishq, said: "While, Tanshiq will continue to sell Mia brand jewellery. Growth of business for Mia will come from standalone stores. We plan to open up to 25 standalone Mia stores by 2016. After initial years of support from Tanishq, we see opportunity in growing Mia brand via standalone stores.”

The Mia collection takes its inspiration from the unexplored finesse in the cross-sections of sliced luscious fruits. At the heart of every piece of Mia jewellery is the unrivalled lustre of fruits. An expression of modern luxury, each product forms an independent piece and tells its own little story. Colour stones like Mint Amethyst, Pink Amethyst, Lemon Topaz, Beer Quartz, Smoky Quartz and more were used to add diversity to the collection. 

Gitanjali pursuing retail expansion through franchise model

The Rs 12,000-crore Gitanjali Group, which receives 60 per cent of its total revenues from retail operations, is planning to add 25 more large-format, multi-brand franchisee stores in the current calendar year. The company launched the largest-ever franchisee store, with over 12,000-sft space and 9,000 varieties of jewellery on offer, in Hyderabad on Saturday. 

Gitanjali Jewellery Retail Private Ltd managing director Santosh Srivastava said that the company was pushing more retail outlets in the franchisee mode as they help built trust for the brand among the customers on the back of a trusting local partner. 

The company, which currently has 75 franchisee stores, account for 80 per cent of the company’s retail sales in the country. According to Srivastava, the economic slowdown had no significant impact on its retail business as the purchase of jewellery was more to do with Indian tradition. 

“We grew 70 per cent year-on-year and would continue to grow at this level in the next three to five years,” he told reporters. The company proposes to double the retail franchisee network in the country by 2015, Srivastava added. 

Pankaj Doshi, managing director of Doshi Gems and Jewels Private Limited, who owns the newly-opened franchisee store, said he expected to post at least Rs 50-crore sales in the first year.