Doing up the Dandies

Published in the Express Week dated August 30, Saturday, 1997.

Copyright: The Indian Express, Chennai.

From time immemorial jewellery has played an integral part in enhancing the beauty of a woman. And when it comes to the yellow metal, people go crazy. In spite of its exorbitant prices.

Lalitha Jewellery, a fore-runner in jewellery business has embossed its name as a pioneer in fashion jewellery which catches the eyes of every passerby at Usman Road in T Nagar. The Raja Ganapathi and Devi statues engraved in stone at the entrance provide a traditional welcome.

This double-storeyed jewellery store can work even the sanest of shoppers up into a frenzy. At the ground floor on display is a variety of jewellery catering to the needs of customers with varied tastes. Gold watches, bracelets, bangles, ear drops, necklaces, chains, rings, nose rings, and so on. Junk jewellery in 24-carat gold, that intrigues the younger crowd is also part of the display.

A special section with a variety of birthstones and other stone-studded jewellery caters to customers with a special taste.

A new men's section attracts customers in large numbers. According to Lakshmi Sarathy, PA to the Managing Director, the very idea of an innovative men's counter MARK (Men's Accessories in Real Karat), was introduced to break the belief that wearing jewellery is a woman's prerogative. This exclusive range has attracted many men with a liking for gold to go in for collar tips, corporate king pins, diamond studded buckles for belts, cufflinks, kurta buttons with precious stones and pins with zodiac signs too! This section has certainly given LJ an edge over its competitors.

Other jewellery for men includes chains with religious symbols and zodiac signs, pocket watches with chains, imported spectacle frames in gold with provision for diamonds, silver cases for visiting cards, key chains and cigarette lighters. Walk into LJ for a golden smile -- yes! they even make gold teeth. Never to miss a golden opportunity, the MARK counter takes orders for making lapel badges for corporate houses with the company monogram engraved on it.

The first floor displays silver jewellery and silverware. There is an exclusive section for children's ornaments which is as tempting as the adult section. There is also a chit section, which encourages monthly deposits and fixed deposits.

Lakshmi claims that the showroom has many firsts to its credit. It was the first jewellery shop with the modern interior decoration in the busy Usman Road area. LJ was also the first to erect huge neon signs over sky scrapers and release colour advertisements in print and on satellite TV.

They were the first to form a classical concert club for customers with a taste for classical music and dance in the jewellery business circle. This cultural organisation, Classix, was open to all their customers with a free membership. It conducted programmes from 1987 at the Madras Music Academy.

The highlights of the club activities were a dance recital by film actress Revathi, a Carnatic music concert by K J Yesudas and a drama by the famous K S Manohar troupe.

That was not all. She says they had come up with a new scheme later. Every customer by the name Lalitha was given free gifts and this gave a boost to their sales and attracted more customers.

It is claimed that they were the first to help the traffic police and the corporation erect police beats, road medians, signals, reflective sign boards and pedestrian crossings. A far cry from designing jewellery, but a commendable effort undoubtedly. LJ is also credited with being the first jewellery store to produce 35mm advertisement film, colour commercials for TV, and a 13-episode teleserial.

Little wonder it is that Lalitha Jewellery has been conferred the Udyog Shree Award, a highly acclaimed title in the business circle.

Creating history in the field of jewellery advertising, changing the very concepts of the business, has become a way with LJ. The recent TV advertisement has been widely acclaimed for its ice maiden model. A white background is not advisable for advertising jewellery, and many in the business follow this rule. The melting ice model advertisement, released on an experimental basis, has been a thumping success, according to them.

Hard work, total involvement, sincerity and dedication are the reasons for our success, says Managing Director Sukumar. He hopes to see it as a multi-crore company in the years to come. Apparently, Lalitha Jewellery does not design just golden ornaments but golden dreams too.

Innovative Trend (Box)

Lalitha Jewellery traces its origin in Colombo, Sri Lanka, founded by M. S. Kandaswamy in 1951. A branch was later opened in the same city and is managed by the founder's son Sellakumar. Their only branch in India was opened in 1985 which is at T. Nagar, Chennai, with A. Sukumaran as its Managing Director. The showroom will be completing its 12 years successfully on September 11.

Its founder has been a pioneer in the field of jewellery manufacturing and retail sales. As a leading jeweller of South Asia, he was well known for his creative advertisements and campaigns -- the pillar on which the business was erected.

Managing Director A. Sukumaran has been conferred the title Udyog Shri by the Institute of Economic Studies and is one among the top 20 businessmen today. He has also been felicitated for the quick and convincing growth and reputation of the jewellery business.

With immense support and encouragement from the founder and the customers, there was no looking back. Service, Quality and Variety is the watchword and they believe that advertisement is essential to increase sales, encourage creativity and reach out to the public, which must be the secret of their success. They believe in healthy competition that is very much needed for any business to thrive.

Sudha Shenoy