Glistering all the way

The Kolkata-based jewellery chain, Senco Gold and Diamonds, has remained the first choice for many families since ages. Be it a wedding, puja or any other occasion, Senco has the perfect collection to make one look absolutely gorgeous and leave others speechless. The business, which was started from scratch by Late Maran Chand Sen, soars high amongst other jewellery brands in the market. 

Senco Gold and Diamonds’ stores are spread all over West Bengal, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jamshedpur, Ranchi and Guwahati among others. It not only has a pan-Indian customer base but is also involved in exporting gold and diamond jewellery to the Middle East, Singapore, UK and USA. Suvankar Sen, the Managing Director of Senco Gold and Diamonds, who joined the family business in 2007, believes that trust for quality and value for money sets them apart. An MBA from IMT Ghaziabad, Sen has worked closely with his father Sankar Sen, to learn the nitty gritty of their long running business.  

Sen talks about Senco’s impeccable journey which runs for more than eight decades now along with their expansion plans. 

Our company was started by my great grandfather Maran Chand Sen, who used to be an intern at a jewellery store. One day a trader left behind some precious stones. He was honest enough to keep it aside and return it to him when he met him a year after. That made the trader happy and in return he gave him a packet as a reward for his honesty. This gave him the capital to start his business which he named ‘Senco’. 

He was smart enough to sense the change in the political environment and shift base to Kolkata during the Bengal Partition. After his death, his sons had disagreements among themselves and separated. My grandfather was given the smallest showroom and a minimum capital to restart his branch of Senco. He turned that into a very profitable showroom and went on to add 2 more to his portfolio. My father, Sankar Sen expanded it further and introduced the business model of franchisees and after I joined in 2007 the rate of expansion is as we see it today.

Our motto is value for money and trust for quality. The journey with other competitors and brands entering the market with fluctuating gold price has been a challenging one and that in turn has helped us to meet the demands of the current time and supply our customers with lightweight jewellery. 

Senco Gold & Diamonds is an eighty year old brand so it includes four generations of trust. In addition, Kolkata is the best known for karigari - heavy and light weight jewellery for both wedding and daily/casual wear. So, I believe that very unique handcrafted jewellery designs  can be found here.  

Having our base in Kolkata makes us unique as we are in manufacturing and retailing sector. The light affordable jewellery covering wedding or daily wear gives us an upper hand. Also, the trend that we follow while making our products sets us apart. 

Gold, diamonds, platinum, silver– All are fine for sale.

The latest trend is sleek designs in gold and diamonds. It’s not about the quantity but largely depends on the quality source, which is the heritage and the value.

Gold is an internationally accepted metal, almost a substitute to currency that appreciates value over time. The price is driven by market demand and supply. Diamonds on the other hand are rare, precious, beautiful and fashionable. It is more modern and trendy. Big sized diamonds are still accepted as investments but not the tiny ones.

Purchase of gold amongst youngsters is on decline, compared to diamonds. This is mainly due to the dressing style and behaviour of the consumers. They want to enjoy what they wear and gold becomes selective in that case. However, I believe consumers should appreciate the long term asset value of gold and act on it.

 

We don’t compare ourselves with others. We believe in giving a solution to our consumers in terms of designs and value. We want to execute the best practices in terms of processes and controls and serve the needs of our consumers.

Nearly 10 to 20 per cent. This is due to the rules and taxes that have been suggested but we believe it’s just a matter of time. Consumers will get used to it and we will overcome the challenge.

We are at 80 stores right now. As the business grows we are aiming towards 100 stores in the next two years. However, the main target over the next ten years is to take our manufactured products to the rest of the world.