Climbing Up the golden ladder Chintamani Kaigoankar, talks about the slow and steady growth of his store, incidentally named after him

Climbing Up the golden ladder

Chintamani Kaigoankar, talks about the slow and steady growth of his store, incidentally named after him

When the brand one works for is named after them, it might be a huge honour, but it also brings with it tremendous responsibility. "One might assume that everything was served to me on a platter, but it wasn't. I had to prove myself to my family by taking charge," says Chintamani Kaigaonkar, who is the third generation in a family of jewellers. It was only natural that he was born with an inherent love for all things precious. "Visiting the store and helping my father with the business was routine for me, however, before officially joining the business, I decided to pursue a professional course that taught me more about the business," says Kaigaonkar, who had the choice to pick any profession that he wanted. Even though he could have started off as the 'boss', he decided to take the slower route to reach where he is today. "My career-graph has been like that of any other employee's, because I have even worked behind the counter," says the owner, who empasises on practical knowledge. Working with a brand that boasts a legacy that is more than a decade old, bringing about changes was an extremely challenging task for Kaigaonkar. "I was keen on altering the perception that we were the store people visited to buy heavy gold jewellery only. It was a tough task to convince people that they could find any jewellery they wanted — right from gemstones, diamonds to platinum," he explains. And Kaigaonkar has been successful in bringing about that change in perception, he proudly tells us, "Our customers now seek everything — daily-wear to wedding jewellery." Working in the family business, differences of opinion can bring a varied perspective. "It was tough to convince my dad that the image of the store needed a makeover, especially because it was quite successful back then as well," he laughs. In fact, he smiles as he recounts how he had a difference of opinion with his father about the location for a new store, and in the end, he won! Another important step he took was to bring in fresh talent without letting go of his old staff. "I mixed experience with young energy. And that has been our success mantra," says Kaigaonkar, who has been rejuvenating the family business for the last eight years. He brought in advertising, human resources and marketing teams, with an outlook to make the family business a professional setup. Kaigaonkar feels that along with the store, his customers have also evolved over the years. "The customer is armed with research about designs and trends, which means that our job is half done. We just have to provide the right product," he says. The showroom also gives their customers an option to see their stones being set in the design of their choice at the factory. While families have always trusted the Chintamanis brand, capturing the newer, younger buyers was a challenge. "This generation is not a big fan of heavy jewellery. So, we decided to bring in designs that they could wear to work or to college," says Kaigaonkar. With platinum and white gold gaining popularity amongst their younger clients, Chintamanis stocks trendy light-weight jewellery in all these metals. Part of his challenge to target their younger customers was made easy by the presence of the brand on social media. "Our future customers are on Facebook and Twitter. So, we make it a point to update all the latest trends and offers on networking sites. It is very effective," says Kaigaonkar, who believes that customer trust is of utmost importance. "If anything gets a customer to repeatedly shop with you, it is trust. If people lose trust in us, we will have to down our shutters," he says, while he recalls an anecdote. "A young man once walked up to me and said that as a kid he used to visit the store with his mother and now he comes here to buy jewellery for his family. Imagine how wonderful that felt!" saya Kaigaonkar with a proud smile. The nature of his work is all-consuming and leaves very little time for anything else. "We actually work overtime on public holidays! I rarely get to celebrate festivals at home," says Kaigaonkar. However, he does make time for his passion — travel. "Travelling for me is both, a hobby and a business plan. When I see different places, I experience their marvels and also observe the latest trends," he says. "I attended the Wimbledon Tennis Championship this time. Watching the live action was a particularly memorable experience," says Kaigaonkar. Though he pulls all the shots now, there is one person who he keeps going back to for advice on big decisions. "My father is my backbone and whenever I need frank, unbiased advice, I fall back on him. He can throw light on all the aspects of a problem and guide me in the right direction," says the proud son.