Tradition to Transformation: Akshat Rastogi’s Journey in Reviving Ratandeep Jewellers

Akshat Rastogi, Partner, Ratandeep Jewellers, New Delhi, a fourth-generation jeweller, joined the family-run business in 2014 after graduating from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Carlsbad. He tells The Retail Jeweller about the measures that helped the owners shift focus from everyday tasks to effective decision-making and growth

THE TRIGGER

When I joined the business, I saw my father single-handedly manage the show. Although things were getting done, the work would often get messed up and become difficult to manage. I saw an urgent need to grow beyond this one-person show. My main focus was to create a system that required minimum involvement of the owner’s family in running the day-to-day affairs of the store. This, in turn, would help the owners take more productive decisions and allow them to focus more on the company’s growth.

THE IMPLEMENTATION

An organisational structure with a defined hierarchy made everyone accountable for their roles and responsibilities. Separate departments, such as sales, inventory management, back office, accounts, after-sales service, etc., were created to take care of specific tasks, reducing work overlaps. Fresh hires were made for the various departments. The employee strength increased from 4 to about 15-16 within the first 8-9 months of my joining the business, and now, we have more than 20 employees. In the new system, we limited data access to individuals as per roles; earlier, everyone had the same access levels.

Also, there used to be no record of the work assigned to in-house karigars, entailing a high chance of human error and delivery delays. We created a coordinator position to manage work between karigars and salespersons. The software was upgraded to keep track of the karigars’ work. While transitioning from the old to the new, I had to deal with the senior employee’s concerns, who were wary about a change of authority. Luckily, I got wholehearted support from my father, who acted on my behalf to make the old employees comply and get things done by them. It took us about two years to properly implement the change.

“While transitioning from the old to the new, I had to deal with the senior employee’s concerns, who were wary about a change of authority. It took us about two years to properly implement the change”

Akshat Rastogi, Partner, Ratandeep Jewellers, New Delhi

THE RESULT

The changes I implemented proved highly beneficial for the company as the work became more systematic compared to earlier. We began to experience the outcome first-hand, with positive feedback from our customers. Our order-delivery efficiency doubled; now, around 80-85% of our deliveries are on time.

PLANS

The next step is collaborating with social media influencers and celebrities to market our products and amplify our presence. We also plan to launch our e-commerce website for silver jewellery.

The Retail Jeweller India Magazine