Rishab Agarwal’s Success Story at RR Agarwal Jewellers, From Kolkata to New Horizons

Twenty-five-year-old Rishab Agarwal, Director, RR Agarwal Jewellers, Kolkata is a third-generation jeweller with a family business management course from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, to his name. He tells The Retail Jeweller how expanding to new markets beyond Kolkata and upgrading after-sales service gave his business a fillip

EXPANDED THE RETAIL FOOTPRINT

I felt the need to expand the retail business into other States to explore business opportunities in new markets. Other than the Kolkata-based Senco Gold and Diamonds, most chain stores are from South India. Being a Marwari jeweller, my plan was to bring a Marwari player into the field. Our first store outside Kolkata was in Jaipur, followed by Rourkela in March. My plan is to open more stores in cities such as Dhanbad, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Asansol and Siliguri, from where customers travel to Kolkata to buy jewellery.

“My plan is to open more stores in cities such as Dhanbad, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Asansol and Siliguri, from where customers travel to Kolkata to buy jewellery”

Rishab Agarwal, Director, RR Agarwal Jewellers, Kolkata

FILLED PRODUCT AND AFTER-SALES SERVICE GAPS

The strategy is to offer designs not commonly available in those cities. For example- the majority of the jewellers in Jaipur stock polki jewellery. So, we differentiate by offering a variety of diamond and antique jewellery (along with regular polki jewellery).

Similarly, in Rourkela, where yellow jewellery is quite popular, we kept antique, jadau and polki jewellery to draw the customers’ attention. And offering the best designs and choices in these ranges ensures that customers visit us if they want something different and unique.
Family-run jewellery retailers tend to overlook after-sales service. But customers today look for services beyond the sale. A chain store, for instance, allows a customer to buy from one store, and get it serviced at any outlet of the brand in India. So, when I opened my showroom in Rourkela, I set up an after-sale service centre within it so that customers could get repairs and other small jobs done. It made customers very happy. My strategy is to open showrooms along with service centres in Tier-I and Tier-II cities.

Meanwhile, I also brought in product overhaul every three months, to give a fresh look to the inventory.

CREATED A NEW SUPPLY CHAIN

When I joined the business, we used to acquire the majority of the inventory from Kolkata itself. I wanted to introduce more product lines and looked for vendors outside the State. Thus, I contacted karigars based out of Jaipur for polki jewellery and travelled to different cities like Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Surat and the South to procure other products.

The Retail Jeweller India Magazine