Ratandeep Jewellers from Moradabad, rising from a 300 sq. ft. room to a 9000 sq. ft. showroom, targeting new customer segments while staying true to its core by offering unique designs available mostly in metro cities

In 1992, Ratandeep Jewellers started its operations by supplying diamonds and coloured gemstones to showrooms in nearby cities such as Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, and Pilibhit. Identifying the potential for retail growth, the company opened its first store in 1992, marking its diamond retail journey from a small non-descript 300 sq. ft store in Moradabad

In 2023, The plans to expand with a new store in a developing area outside the city centre aligns with the jewellers’ growth strategy. The jeweller is targeting new customer segments and, in tune with it, plans to increase the inventory range three times, while staying true to its core by offering unique designs available mostly in metro cities

Back in the early 90s, when jewellers were highly wary of introducing diamonds to their customers for it yet hadn’t captured their imagination, somewhere in the hinterlands of UP, Director of Ratandeep Jewellers, Akshat Rastogi’s, move to set up a store exclusively for diamonds may not have seemed so much brave as foolhardy.

“Over the years, we realised the purchasing power and taste for luxury among the city’s residents, which led to the introduction of exquisite high-end jewellery collections, previously only available in larger cities,” says Rastogi.

Rastogi explains that Moradabad is known for its thriving handicraft exports and agro-based industries, boasting a population of well-heeled customers with considerable purchasing power and refined taste. The jeweller harnessed the captivating power of these radiant gems, weaving stories of luxury and exclusivity, creating aspiration amongst customers at a time when jewellery only meant gold.

In ten years, as the business flourished, Rastogi took another well-considered risk to move away from the hubbub of the Sarafa market, and open a 1500 sq. ft. store at the outskirts of the city in Civil Lines, an offbeat location for retail in those years.

“We want to grow by capitalising on the expanding middle and upper-middle-class segments. Our brand will become more relevant as income and lifestyles improve, and customers become more discerning”

AKSHAT RASTOGI, DIRECTOR, RATANDEEP JEWELLERS

“We felt that customers may enjoy the quiet and ease of coming to a less crowded location.” At the same time, going out of their way, the jeweller started crafting luxurious designs at the behest of elite customers – recreating designs as per their imagination and, at times, reference images. “We want to go great lengths to delight customers with unusual designs for those times.”

With their second store, Ratandeep Jewellers became the trusted choice for elite customers seeking international standards in quality and design and one of the city’s most distinguished diamond jewellery retailers.

Here in the second store, the jeweller started stocking gold jewellery. “Even in gold, we kept up with our reputation of being the first to introduce designs which were only available in big cities and were unusual for locals,” says Rastogi. The jeweller introduced heavy antique gold necklaces, temple jewellery and designer ranges.

It is not only the design; the jeweller has been striving to increase the product’s overall value. “Our mark-ups are rationally standardised,” he explains how, unlike other retailers, they refrain from using Rapport pricing as a benchmark for solitaires. As such, “our markups don’t vary as per the perceived value of the piece or the buying capacity of customers,” he adds.

The jeweller remains satisfied with fixed margins and lets the customers benefit from its efficient sourcing regardless of the cost of the product. “The pricing philosophy has proved to be a massive competitive advantage,” he informs.

Despite being located in Moradabad, a city that may seem incomparable in demand to the bigger towns, Ratandeep Jewellers successfully built a substantial market for itself. The city’s proximity to affluent areas and its thriving export industry have created a pool of potential customers with a taste for luxury. Today, approx 30 per cent of Ratandeep Jewellers’ customers belong to the high-income group.

In 2023, two decades later, the brand is ready to take another risk by opening a new store further away from the current location, now a bustling marketplace. “The city has expanded, and the Civil Lines area is extremely crowded. We decided to move to an up-and-coming high street.”

Their decision to open a new store in a developing area outside the city centre aligns with their growth strategy. The 9000 sq. ft. store aims to capture new customer segments and, in tune with it, will expand the inventory range from 5,000-6,000 SKUs to 14,000-15,000 SKUs.

“We want to grow by capitalising on the expanding middle and upper-middle-class segments,” comments Rastogi. As their income and lifestyles improve, they will become more discerning about designs, making our brand more relevant (to them).

Though the brand is expanding its target base, it is not shifting away from its core. The jeweller has built a robust backend for manufacturing unique designs. “A ready design is ready for any jeweller to buy. So, we have taken the long route of creating (part of the) inventory and manufacturing them ourselves,” says Rastogi.

That aside, the jeweller is now expanding the range of precious colour gemstone jewellery. “Earlier, we used synthetic colour gemstones or hints of precious gems to spark up diamond jewellery. Now, it is the other way around. The design is a major play of precious coloured gemstones with a small hint of diamonds,” says Rastogi.

The jeweller has recently introduced necklace sets in the range of 2-3 lacs in precious coloured gemstones. “As the customers get comfortable buying precious colour gemstone-based designs, we will introduce bigger sets,” he adds.

By always staying ahead of the trends, Ratandeep Jewellers continues to captivate customers and solidify their position as leading and trendsetting jewellers in Moradabad. With their third store and ambitious growth plans, the future looks promising for this bold and highly competitive jewellery brand.

Soma Bhatta with inputs from Maithili Patange

The Retail Jeweller Magazine