India : the 3rd largest men’s luxury jewelry market
Fancy bracelets, rings, studs and chains are fast becoming part of the fashion statement for India upscale city-dwelling males, who have already added fairness creams to their repertoire. The following comments are excerpted from The Economic Times
Jeweler C Krishniah Chetty & Sons’ managing director Vinod Hayagriv’s workstation is a vantage point for the goings on at his diamond boutique in Bangalore. “Take a look around the room,” he says referring to the number of men at the store. “Men are probably much more comfortable participating in jewelry shopping now than ever before.”
“Wearing light-weight gold jewelry is becoming a fashion amongst youngsters,” says Rahul Singh, retail and marketing head at Kolkata-based Shree Ganesh Jeweler House, which recently rolled out a men’s jewelry range under brand Gaja.
No wonder then that India has overtaken the U.S. to become the third-largest men’s luxury jewelry market in the world according to researcher Euromonitor International. The researcher estimated the Indian men spent almost $200 million on this sector in 2011 and may increase their spend by as much as 36 percent in the next year. “Although it’s a niche market, it is growing. Nobody can ignore it now,” says GR Radhakrishnan, MD of GRT Jewellers, which pegs his share of men’s jewelry at 20-25%.
“The metrosexual man is driving this demand,” says Orra Director and CEO Vijay Jain. Men in their late 20s and 30s are the biggest consumers, say jewellers. More men are independently venturing into jewelry stores today than ever before. Many are there to buy gifts for their partners.
For top diamond jeweler Gitanjali Group, men account for almost 42% of its sales. The average purchase value of these consumers has also doubled in two years while spending by women grew by 20 percent. A senior executive at Forevermark, a De Beers brand, says that most of these independent purchases are being made on Hindu fall festivals such as Karva Chauth and Dhan Teras.
As GRT Jewelers’ Radhakrishnan says, “It seems men today do not lose as much patience as they did at jewelry stores earlier.”
What this means
Men in India don’t necessarily behave like men in other BRIC countries or in the West. Also today’s urban men behave differently from their fathers and even their older brothers. Not so long ago, most jewelry in India was custom crafted by small store owners. Western companies addressing categories that affect both men and women, would be smart to question their basic assumptions before making investments in India’s consumer market.
