Challani Jewellery Mart- The ultimate destination for silver aficionados

By Suneeta Kaul

When it comes to retailing gold, there are many big names to take inspiration from, but not many retailers in India devote themselves to silver as wholeheartedly as does Challani Jewellery Mart/Challani House of Silver. Located in T Nagar, Chennai, this one-stop shop for all things silver has taken the concept of silver retailing to a whole new level, in the process, setting benchmarks for others to follow.

Vast array of products

While the parent company, Challani Jewellery Mart, was inaugurated in 2013, Challani House of Silver opened in 2020. A four-storeyed building, it boasts of 6500 square feet, all devoted to silver. Says Goutham Challani, Director, Challani Jewellery Mart/Challani House of Silver, “We have had a passion for silver for a long time, having been in this business for more than 30 years. Such is our reputation that big names in the jewellery industry have come to see our showroom, and some of them have come more than once. Our store is unique, and has innumerable silver articles, as well as a wide range of jewellery.”

The range of items is truly mindboggling. The building houses over 10,000 products, including gift items, artefacts, idols, pooja items, utensils, glasses, dinner plates, dry fruit boxes, jewellery, including temple jewellery, and so forth. But there are also many unique items, such as chess boards, ladies hand bags with long slings, shoes, slippers, chairs, cots, arm bands, ceiling panels, toys, including remote-operated toy cars, and more. With so much variety, the price range is bound to be very broad — you can buy something for as little as Rs 100, and go all the way up to Rs 15 lakh.

The sheer number of items necessitates a well-thought-out display and proper segregation of products. And Challani has taken special care to ensure that the items are displayed in such a manner as to make browsing easy and convenient.

One-of-a kind showroom

“Challani Jewellery Mart is not a typical retail outlet, it is a walk-in store. There are no counters — only the ground floor has a half-counter. Our staff is very discreet, and customers are left in peace to browse at their own pace. If anyone needs guidance or help, someone will always be there, but, as a rule, we give space to our customers,” explains Challani.

A lot of thought has been put into the display of items. The ground floor has South Indian pooja articles, the first floor is devoted to wedding-related items, the second floor houses artefacts imported from countries such as Malaysia and Hong Kong, and the third floor has the back office. There is a separate showroom as well that is connected to the building.

An important aspect of the store is that all the products are hallmarked, which, in itself, is unusual. Generally, most retailers stock only hallmarked gold, but do not extend the concept of hallmarking to silver. But at Challani, everything, from the cheapest item to the most expensive, comes with hallmarking and quality assurance. This has enabled the store to win the trust of its customers, who are assured of purity, regardless of the size or price of an item.

Challani goes on to explain that silver retailing is markedly different from gold retailing, not just because of the huge difference in prices, but also owing to the nature of the medium. “The margin is not big in silver, but there is more scope for creativity. You can create something new, something different, something unique with silver, that you cannot do with gold,” he adds.

Interestingly, the company has many overseas customers. “Foreigners take to silver in a big way; they are very fond of it. We have many niche overseas customers. In fact, we are into exports in a big way. We ship out at least one item practically every day. Social media platforms, such as Instagram, have enabled us to get many reference customers,” says Challani.

Even within the country, silver has been gaining popularity, particularly among the new generation. Silver jewellery is becoming more and more popular by the day, and the rising prices are leading people to view it as an investment.

“We see good days ahead for silver,” Challani opines, adding, “While the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns dampened sales, but things looking up now. We are witnessing a release of pent-up demand, and the festive season has just started, with a wedding season lying ahead. We foresee brisk sales in the coming days.”

When you have an entire building dedicated to silver, such optimism may not be misplaced!

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service