Manuj Goyal, Gemporia TV
With a disparate International business experience spanning over 25 years in Jewellery & Gemstone industry, Mentoring & Funding, Customer Service & Tech Operations, Manuj Goyal is the Managing Director of Jewel Alliance Network P. Ltd. and Pinkcity Group of Companies. Manuj has been leveraging his repository of knowledge gained at Gemological Institute of America to produce the finest gemstones and precious jewellery at his factories for major brands in US and Europe. After manufacturing jewellery for Gemporia for over 8 years, Manuj has ventured into television with Gemporia India TV under Jewel Alliance Network P. Ltd.
What is Gemporia TV? What is the issue that the venture is trying to address and what makes you confident that it is a winning proposition.
“Gemporia is India’s first live jewellery television channel bringing exclusive genuine gemstones and precious metal jewellery directly from factories to homes, manufactured in limited runs. We believe that beautiful jewellery shouldn’t cost the earth, but it should leave a legacy, for those who wear it and those who help to make it. Explore gemstone mines, learn all about where your jewelery comes from and how it’s made while shopping wearable jewellery, from your home.
We’ve sold over 9 million pieces worldwide. Gemporia standing strong in the UK market for 11 years, is a successful case study with rapid growth in overall jewellery retail, achieving almost 8% Market Share of all hallmarked jewellery sold in the UK. It has been a great success in the USA, leveraging IT, logistics, and retail strategy. We know India is ready for this change.”
What was the key factor/s that led you to take the plunge?
“The Indian market is slowly accepting Western trends and business models. As an evolving market, people are ready to buy jewellery from someone other than the good old family jeweller. Trust is the foundation of purchasing genuine jewellery – we’ve covered that with our authenticity certificates, gold hallmarking and the precision in jewellery manufacturing. Added to that, our products are phenomenally affordable and stylish, we are sure we will change the way people perceive jewellery buying in our country.”
Where did you meet your other co-founders / business partners? Please describe each one briefly.
“I’ve been manufacturing for Gemporia globally for over 8 years now. After working together for this long, my business partner, Steve Bennett and I decided the time was right to come to India and bring in the best practices of retailing jewellery in the West.
About Steve: Steve has been established in the jewellery industry since 2004, when he set up Gems TV in UK. With a keen interest in gemology and a proven track record, setting up Gemporia with his wife Sarah was a natural move. He has always worked closely with the communities his gemstones are sourced from and is actively involved with charities that improve the health and education of the people he works with.
From the beginning, Steve wanted to do business fairly and is committed to ensuring the quality and traceability of every stone used in his jewellery.”
How did you manage the initial capital?
“It’s a self-funded business, we will be cash flow positive soon. We will start seeking capital now to move forward.”
What were the first 90 days like?
“Think of your first roller coaster ride or your first sky dive. Now imagine sky diving onto a roller coaster – that’s how it’s been.
You prepare, make sure everything is in place, beat the anxiety and just take the plunge. With our live television telecast, we had a brilliant first day, without any marketing, people were watching the channel and placing orders. We’ve been on a rollercoaster since then. No amount of preparation was enough, we missed 10000 phone calls in the first 30 days, progressed from 4 hrs of live telecast to 16 hrs of live telecast, reaching 30 million homes every minute. We sold over 21,000 pieces of authentic jewellery in the first 90 days, making India beautiful.”
Have you managed to raise any funding — angel / seed, etc?
“It’s a self-funded business, we are now looking for growth capital.”
What is the revenue stream & profitability?
“We are television and e-commerce retailer. All the pieces sold on our TV channel, website and app are produced by us. We have removed the concept of middlemen and function with a healthy margin of 40% in the process.”
What is your guiding philosophy when it comes to doing business?
“At Gemporia, our aim is to be original, inspiring and ethical. We responsibly source phenomenal genuine gemstones and set them exquisitely in precious metals. Therefore, sustainably delivering rare and limited collections to the world. We teach with our informative videos on purity, gemstones, cuts, we work to educate people and help them know their jewellery so they can grow as we do. The more you know about what you are buying, the more you treasure it.”
Where do you see yourself 3 years from now?
“With our unique business model, we will be India’s largest jewellery sellers when it comes to the number of units in the authentic and affordable jewellery space.”