RETAIL: Tanishq jewelry, now at a mall near you

Tanishq, the upscale jewelry group of Titan Industries Ltd. entered US retail with a jewelry boutique in Chicago. And a second is to follow at Garden State Plaza Shopping Center in Paramus, NJ, which is going to be one of 20 stores listed under Fine Jewelry and Watches at the mall. A bit about their business plans, from Smita Aggarwal’s January article in the Indian Express,

To expand its retail presence overseas, Tata's promoted Tanishq, the jewellery business group of Titan Industries, will be coming up with its two stores in United States by 2008-end.

Speaking to The Indian Express on sidelines of a conference, the vice president Retail and Marketing, Jewellery, V Govindraj said, "Tanishq would be opening two jewellery boutiques in US by this year end. These stores will be company owned and are on a pilot basis."

With an interesting product mix, the company will be including a large part of its jewellery design mix, targeted at ethnic Indians. "Clearly, a large part of the product mix will be for ethnic Indians and Non Resident Indians (NRI)," said Govindraj.

These stores will add to its international portfolio since it has a presence in Middle East and far East nations like UAE and Singapore. Most of these stores are in a shop-in-shop format, operating in existing jewellery stores. "The export sales constitute around 6-7 per cent of our total sales," said Govindraj.

From Diamond World, a trade journal August article:

Tanishq has stepped foot into the US retail market, and opened its first store in Woodfield Mall, Chicago, which is part of its plan to open 25 stores in the US. The store will deliver both permanent and revolving jewellery collections. The company plans to initially retail jewellery along the themes of Yoga, Spring and Lotus, inspired by nature and philosophy.

According to the website, the brand was launched in 1995 and retails at 91 stores in 64 cities.

In an impressive display of production promotion, Tanishq jewelry was worn by Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan in the historical film Jodhaa Akbar launched earlier this year. The Jodhaa Akbar Collection was ‘previewed in select cities’ in a somewhat original-16th-century-Mughal-jewelry-traveling-exhibition sort of way, lending a sense of authenticity and authority to the brand.

But if you're looking for that exotic Indian pedigree on the Tanishq US website, you have to search hard. There is hardly any mention of the brand's roots in India, aside from saying that its "the most sought-after brand in the largest jewelry market in the world, India." Even the backgrounder on the Tata corporation, while mentioning its roots in the 19th century, elides any specific sense of place.
And the brand copy is similar:

Tanishq USA is poised to change the jewelry experience with an aesthetic that is truly international in style and culture. But what truly defines the group is their commitment to the world it lives in. More than half of the profits go back into making the society better. Building stronger communities through progress and excellence in academics, science, design and technology.

Let us know what you think.