Forevermark Forum 2019 entices retailers to ‘be limitless’ in brand development

Excellence is an outcome of determination and the desire to outperform oneself. Congratulating the retail partners for having this rare trait, Forevermark India president Sachin Jain kick-started Forevermark Forum 2019 with the slogan ‘Be Limitless’ at Grand Sheraton, Bengaluru on July 9. Through deliberation over the untapped potential of progressive diamond jewellers of India, commencement of the 8th forum by this global diamond mining behemoth completed an arc of their illustrious journey starting in the same city in 2011. More than 400 delegates including leading retailers, manufacturers and other industry stakeholders are attending this forum.

Giving an overview of his presentation, Jain said the ideal workplace environment for the youth has to be frictionless as the more informal the ambience, the more interested will the customer take in products. “Predictive analysis through artificial intelligence is becoming the need of the hour. The journey from a jeweller to a retailer banks on merits in tech-savvy aptitude,” said Jain. Pegging India’s economy to become $5 trillion by 2025, Jain propagated efforts to preserve the environment, as natural diamonds are results of nature only. 

Addressing the twin issues of illegal mixing of roughs and the concern over lab grown diamonds, Jain proved how technology has made it almost impossible to let an LGD go undetected, reasoning why retailers shall not shy away from installing such testing devices. Lab grown diamonds make a very different market, are very different from natural diamonds and hence, pose no threat to naturals, he said. Jain then showed the successful 2018 for the brand through a video that demarcated several milestones such as reaching 56% of brand awareness, 50% of volume and 20% of retail doors by 2018. Among the other achievements of Forevermark included crossing 1.5 million unique visitors to Forevermark’s India website, reaching 60,000 consumer’s pan India through innovative campaigns such as over 40 co-op campaigns and several others.

Taking over the stage after Jain was Forevermark chairman Stephen Lussier, who highlighted the fact that the market across verticals in luxury is increasingly becoming brand-dependent. “In this situation, the jewellery industry is lagging far behind in capturing attention, most of which is from social media,” said Lussier. Giving an instance of how millennials and Gen Z are attracted by different brands on social media, he said that demands are created not after the young generation searches for a product, but is impressed by the aura of its brand. Pointing out how brand awareness has shifted from exclusivity, quality and financial wealth to inclusivity, craftsmanship and social purpose, Lussier cited instances where Forevermark scores brownie points. “Forevermark’s collections are not just for the super elites as our promotional languaey has always been very welcoming. We stay true to brilliance of handcraft so as to make unique products. Finally, initiatives such as the He for She campaign and elephant translocation from South Africa to Mozambique for ecological preservation speak volumes about Forevermark’s brand ethics,” maintained Lussier.

Taking across a rollercoaster ride of Forevermark’s achievements in Indian retail space, Jain thereafter showed statistical figures showing 400 partners, 2500 retail doors across 32 markets under Forevermark’s name internationally. The Indian figures show 275 doors, 100 partners across 60 cities with a total business of 275k diamonds in India last year. Stressing importance on a Forevermark diamond’s successive journey from sourcing, sorting, cutting and polishing, inscription, grading, manufacturing and retailing, Jain discussed the objectives of De Beers’ Tract block chain program, namely ensuring efficiency, value retention and addition across jewellery manufacturing procedure.

Proposing a new way of trade with B2B partners, Jain launched the Forevermark WhatsApp assistant. The retailers were asked to scan the bar code flashing in the display, upon doing which the smartphone user will have his/her dedicated WhatsApp businnes chat box activated with Forevermark, thus making addressing queries instantaneous. “Diamond retailing is no longer seasonal as India’s 38% of diamond jewellery market is consisted of non-bridal jewellery. I urge retailers to capitalise in this trend and make the most of their business by using technology and benefiting by Forevermark’s 360 degree campaign,” said Jain.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service