Book Review     

Published: March 15, 2024
Updated: March 15, 2024

Modest Midas of Indian jewellers

The customer is king, so goes the saying. This is also reflected in the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi. In every business, to quote Gandhi, “the customer is always the king as he is not dependent on us, but we are dependent on him.” This is very true in the case of Kalyan Jewellers, the leading gold and jewellery business firm of Thrissur in Kerala, with a pan-India presence across several states. For them, the customer is always king – as even a casual visitor to any of its sprawling 235-plus showrooms in India and the UAE will notice. On display in these showrooms is a bewildering variety of gold and diamond ornaments – all customized to the needs and tastes of customers in different states and regions. Thus, while the showrooms in the southern states display and cater to the exquisite needs/fashions of people in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, those in the western, northern and eastern states exhibit the cultural preferences of those areas. This aspect has been well highlighted in the recently released book under review.

TEXTILES ORIGINS

It may be mentioned here that TSK’s grandfather, TS Kalyanarama Iyer, went into business by entering the field of textiles and set up his shop in Trichur (now Thrissur), which still exists. He had 5 sons, of whom TSK’s father, TK Sitaram Iyer, was the eldest. He inherited the textile business, which was thriving by then owing to the Second World War. TSK candidly admits that there was no compulsion from his family to enter the business. He, on his own accord, even as a youngster used to go the shop and closely watch the proceedings – the interaction between the customer and his father and other seniors — and had the first ‘practical lessons’ in business from them. Of course, there was the lure of getting a ‘masala dosa’ in return from either his grandfather or father for some ‘help’ rendered in the shop!

At the outset itself, he found that to succeed in business, the two pillars of business one should strictly adhere to have to be ‘transparency’ and ‘trust’. Yes, it is on these pillars that Kalyan Jewellers today stands. In TSK’s words, “Repose your trust in people and you will never know what failure is.” This was the ‘credo’ followed by his father and grandfather. ‘Never engage in cut-throat or dishonest business’, and ‘Always be transparent and never indulge in under-hand dealings’ were his family’s other principles. According to him, these principles are strictly followed in the business even today by all in his large and very close-knit family — he has 4 brothers who are also engaged in the textile trade in Trichur, and they have fully imbibed these values. It may be added that the firm’s national ambassador and regional ambassadors in different states also emphasise this point in their promotional activities through the print and electronic media. This may be seen from their famous advertising slogan, ‘Vishwasam Alle Ellam’, meaning, ‘Is it not Trust (faith) that matters (in everything).”

COMMON TOUCH

Besides the above, TSK stood for something more, worth emulating by every business leader, foremost of which was treating all customers, big and small alike, without any differentiation. This is a stellar quality/attribute which he has exhibited from the beginning and continues to follow, and which has won him several customers. In this regard, he narrates an incident that happened in one of his showrooms when he ‘learnt’ about the necessity of treating all customers alike. Once, on one side of their showroom, there was a group of people making some very highvalue purchases and all attention was being showered on them by the staff. But in another corner, there was a couple who were being ignored as apparently their purchases were to be small.

After a while, the disgruntled gentleman walked over to TSK and complained about the treatment meted out to him. Then and there, TSK profusely apologised and decided that in future, there would be no distinction or differentiation between rich and ordinary customers in all his showrooms. And this is being strictly followed and all customers are treated equally and extended the same courtesies by the staff.

Being a deeply pious and religious person, also a trait inherited from his forefathers, TSK attributes his success to his firm and unwavering faith in God and His power to help him out in all troubles. Every day, from childhood, he has visited the Sree Ramaswamy temple in Pushpagiri village, their family deity, and has offered prayers, including circumambulation of the deities, before going to office and attending to important matters — a practice he continues to this day, despite his busy schedule! His confidence that God would rescue him even at the eleventh hour is corroborated by an incident which he has narrated.

Before the IPO of Kalyan Jewellers, there was a mandatory stipulation of a certain number of anchor investors agreeing to participate in the offer. While several investing firms from important places had agreed to participate, they were still short of one member to reach the requisite number. Hours ticked by and all his family members were extremely tense and anxious and thinking about what would happen if they failed to fulfil the target by the stipulated time. And lo, just five minutes or so before the closing time, the phone rang indicating the readiness of one more anchor investor to join! He attributes this to nothing else but God’s grace alone!

WARBURG’S TRUST

Yet another incident narrated by TSK is about the investment made by Warburg Pincus, the internationally reputed private equity investment firm, in 2014. After studying the firm for over a year, they decided to invest Rs1,200 crore in Kalyan Jewellers. According to Warburg Pincus’s assessment, the ‘growth attained after investing for five to six years can be achieved in a year with a one-time investment’.

But for Kalyan Jewellers, the offer was quite big as till that time the closely-knit family was the sole owner of the firm. In TSK’s words, ‘we could not imagine someone else coming on board as a partner’. He had difficulty in convincing his children about the proposal. But he decided to take the plunge after making clear to the firm certain points — not a single employee was to be retrenched and the company would continue to move forward as per its style of functioning. As the family had similar views on being transparent and trustworthy, they came on board, agreeing to move ahead together and not be greedy and hasty but be steady and patient. While initially Warburg invested Rs 1,200 crore, some three years later it made an additional investment of Rs 500 crore!

As the business was flourishing and more showrooms were being opened, quite understandably TSK and his two sons Rajesh and Ramesh, who were fully involved in the business and ably assisting their father, were awfully busy. But even during this hectic time, they made it a point to discuss everyday important issues threadbare and take collective decisions. Again, this habit of meeting daily at the end of the day to take stock of the day’s business was something TSK has imbibed quite early in life and even now follows. This was how they could solve tricky matters and resolve differences, if any. Thus, by remaining united and taking a consensus decision in important matters, the company could grow faster.

PLANES FOR UTILITY

This review would not be complete without touching upon yet another TSK trait — humility and a gentle nature. He is always easily accessible to one and all, not necessarily only to customers but also to ordinary folk whom he comes across daily. Talking to him, most people would not realise they are conversing with a big business tycoon! If proof were needed, one has just to go through the 22nd chapter of the book, where he describes the decision of going in for aircraft as ‘objects of necessity and not luxury’. Justifying the decision of going in for aircraft (the firm has 3 planes), he pointed out that ‘mobility was of paramount importance for them as their showrooms were spread all over India and cutting across from place to place without losing time (especially in Karnataka and AP where flights from Hubballi and Bangalore, for instance, are not frequent) was a problem’. Thus, it was out of the ‘sheer necessity’ of saving valuable time and energy that he decided to go in for the aircraft, considering it an utmost necessity and not a luxury. Only a really and sincerely humble person can think and act on these lines!

Affectionately called ‘Swamy’ by several customers and ‘Remani’ by family members, TSK has, over the years, successfully endeared himself to one and all in both society and the business community at large. This is so because of his sharp memory, another enviable trait of his, whereby he remembers several customers by their first names! In short, as mentioned by Amitabh Bachchan in his forward to the publication, “the story of Kalyan Jewellers and the life of Swamy are quite simply inseparable….” It is the personal account of a visionary from Thrissur with humble beginnings, who set up one of the largest jewellery stores in the country – a Rs 25,000 crore behemoth employing over 8,000 people!

To conclude, this small, handy book is ideal for young entrepreneurs who are about to step into the field of start-ups, and who could profitably imbibe some of TSKs characteristics and put them into practice as they seek inspiration from stories of successful businessmen. The book, without doubt, gives a novel perspective on building up a business empire, and is sure to inspire many budding entrepreneurs.