Gehna puts 100% revenue from jewellery sale from May 1-3 for pandemic charity, pushes sales through online channel

Business is in disarray, thanks to multiple waves of the novel Coronavirus pandemic forcing state governments to go back and forth on enforcing lockdowns. Such a situation has hampered profit margins of the jewellery industry acutely. But certain jewellery brands have realized that it is time to be sensitive towards the community. Gehna is one such brand.

This 15-year-old brand from Chennai has taken a unique initiative to give back to several members of the community striving to make both ends meet. Partnering with Give India Foundation, the brand had initiated a campaign in the first week of May in which they claimed that all revenue earned from jewellery sale from May 1^st to 3^rd will be spent to support relief initiatives. Taking a benevolent stand, the brand has urged its existing and bustling customer base to be patient in case of a little delay in product delivery, as the brand authorities plan to make the relief campaign successful.

“We put the pressing needs of the community comprising our artisans, karigars, vendors, employees, support teams, their families and every other suffering individual to tide over these unforeseen circumstances,” said Vineeth Samdaria, marketing and operations head, Gehna India. Revenue from sale of any jewellery on their online platforms during May 1-3 is eligible for charity. This broadened chances of getting more money from jewellery sale for charity. Planning and execution happened swiftly in just a matter of three days from April 28 to 30.

Apart from jewellery sale, the brand communications team sent out text messages to its existing customer base about the purpose of the initiative, urging them to buy jewellery and become a part of this humanitarian effort. “We need to act quickly because of health casualties everywhere. Thus, we plan to assess our revenue by the first week of May and send proceeds to particular causes of Give India Foundation,” said the marketing head. There are several causes active on the platform such as oxygen cylinder facilitation or food delivery to those suffering. Gehna’s income for the aforementioned dates will be spent on these causes, he added.

The effort paid off as Gehna’s showroom in Chennai was not operating. This campaign directed all transactions online, thus generating significant revenue for the cause. But the brand didn’t stop at that. Taking a risky, bold initiative for a jewellery brand, the authorities halted jewellery promotion on all social media channels of the brand for the first three days of May.

“We also urged customers to tag the brand’s handle with posts informing about Covid-19 patient details, their contact details and medical requirements. The brand took it upon themselves to repost those messages on their handles, thereby spreading reach and increasing chances of faster medical assistance for patients concerned.”

Setting an example of community outreach by setting aside commercials for a while, Gehna strengthened its brand value among its existing and expanding customer bases alike.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service