There Is Nothing Wrong With Getting Inspired

“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.” – What eminent author Mark Twain said in his autobiography still holds its relevance intact and more so in the context of jewellery retail where we always chase innovation to achieve originality.

And based on my three-decade of experience in spearheading Devji Aurum which exclusively deals in high-end designer jewellery (a part of six-decade-old Devji Group), I have found that there is nothing original in the world. It’s always someone’s interpretation of some prevailing trend.  And my view is that there is nothing wrong with getting inspired. It’s quite normal for a retailer to get enamoured with some designs that his/her competitors have come up with or some designs from a different part of the world has captivated his/her thoughts. But, that retailer can interpret that design in his/her own way to add a new dimension to it.

Also, one should keep in mind the innovation is a layered and time-consuming process. And, in this world with the dynamic consumerism driven by faster communication and connectivity, the lifespan of a design is shorter and market delivery time for a retailer also getting narrower. In that scenario, it makes sense for a retailer to spot the emerging trend and come out with his/her own version and add that to the new offerings.

Previously I have mentioned the shorter lifespan of a particular design trend in the consumer domain. Let me elaborate that aspect a bit. When I joined Devji Group way back in 1984, trends usually took six to eight months to make way for the new one in Bahrain. Now the trend just takes one month or two to change. The pace of change has increased by up to 200%. And the catalyst that made that happen is the inter-connected world. Now a popular consumer trend in Europe travels faster to the Middle East consumer market. Women in Bahrain, Oman or Sharjah for that matter are also getting inspired by the fashion and style statements of women in Europe or even in India. So, if one can identify such trends and add some new elements it, that retailer can become a trend-setter in his/her market segment. The consumers in the Middle East have become open to experimentations now and the time is right to be inspired sometime.