‘The story around your product will help you win at IIJS Virtual’

Abhishek Raniwala of Raniwalla 1881 has been looking at trends in the fashion industry to correlate them with his jewellery

What are your thoughts on the IIJS Virtual?

We have been a part of IIJS for many years now. It is one of the driving forces of our industry. This virtual platform comes as a new challenge, but quite a boon for small manufacturers because the products will be the ultimate winner. It will be easy for a retailer to move in the virtual platform, as he will be thinking about products more than brands. So showcasing your product appropriately on a digital platform will be a game-changer.

What is your advice for jewellers when they go online?

The first point in building a relationship is the story you tell. You will grab a retailer or customer’s attention if you showcase your product properly. Digital alignment is the key and we know that this is the way forward. So, it’s nothing new to represent yourself online. How a manufacturer adapts to the online presence will depend on how they build a relationship around narrating the story around their products.

How are you going to go about showcasing your product at IIJS?

We will focus on a retailer’s location. We will try and help them select products according to the trends at their location. So, the process will be an amalgamation of two thoughts —experience from different geographical areas, and the right designs and trends. We are going with basic designs — more sustainable and wearable. So, we are going to connect both and assist the retailer in better movement of products.

We have been working with ace designer Manish Malhotra to understand the trends. It is similar in fashion and jewellery. So, we are going to amplify our two strengths, design and experience. We are going to narrate our story to help clients choose what they want to buy. With new buyers, we will be very straight about our philosophy. Communication will play an important role and the filtration process has to be very strong.

How dominant is fashion when it comes to jewellery?

The correlation is dominant and we see very clear trends coming up. Designs now are  back to basics, more functional, sustainable and wearable in the fashion fraternity, which I think will also start for the jewellery industry. We want to design for millennials, and of course as per customer needs.

What will you showcase at the IIJS this time?

There is going to be huge paradigm shift in terms of bridal buying. Keeping that in mind, we have a lot of bridal collections. We are also coming up with a new collection called ‘Empress by something” where have simple and functional bridal jewellery that will impress anyone..

What is your advice for retailers on the upcoming season?

We are all in the same situation and the times have changed. The consumer behaviour has changed and we have to revisit what we have been doing. We at Raniwala have been brainstorming about what our customers and retail partners need and we are happy to cater to them. All retailers should revisit customers and their needs. We will help you in any way we can.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service