A 'Gem' of a Pioneer

A strong supporter of women’s economic empowerment, Archana believes that entrepreneurship is for all. An example herself, she runs a successful business – a pioneer of Indian costume jewellery exports.

Deepak Kumar | March 2016 Issue | The Dollar Business

Archana Garodia Gupta, Owner Touchstone Gems & Jewellery India (P) Ltd.

“No woman in my family had ever worked before or had stayed in a hostel before. Therefore, my going to IIM Ahmedabad was a big decision for my family and there was a lot of opposition,” says Archana Garodia Gupta, recalling her days of youth.

We sit down in her stylish dining room – decorated with attractive paintings, artifacts and ancient artworks – overlooking a beautiful garden. Elegantly dressed, she oozes a sense of authority as she walks in, but expresses great warmth and calmness. She enthusiastically starts telling us about her journey, which was indeed a tough one to begin with. But as her story progressed, it got better and better. She was meant for success – we could sense that.

Archana is the Founder of Touchstone – a Noida-based manufacturer and exporter of silver and gemstone jewellery. She is also the President of FLO (FICCI Ladies Organisation; the women wing of FICCI).

Her start – as we said before – wasn't easy. “Initially, it was difficult to acquire market share as Indian women were very sceptical about wearing imitation jewellery,” says Archana. But as per her, the idea has taken off very well. "In India, people still prefer precious jewellery and gold, but imitation jewellery is gradually penetrating,” says she.

Today, her company markets jewellery throughout India and the world – actually, a significant part of her revenues come from exports. Although the not-so-elating global economic scenario in recent quarters has affected her export volumes, to mitigate the effect, Archana is temporarily betting big on the domestic market. “I believe it has a tremendous potential,” she says.

She is also an incredible learner – she holds a diploma in gemology, and happens to be the winner of the BBC Mastermind Quiz competition, 2001. Archana is definitely a woman with a big vision, always ready to explore something new. Currently, she is busy promoting women entrepreneurship and facilitating their business interests through her association with FLO. She believes that resources and strengths of women need to be channelised, to help them achieve their full potential.

Speaking of her future plans, Archana says, “Currently, I am writing a book on children’s history of India and a series on lesser-known women from Indian history. Touchstone, of course, is my prime focus, and I am looking to extend its reach beyond US and India.” Europe may well be her next 'business' stop.

TDB: After college you joined your family business. So, how did Touchstone Gems & Jewellery happen?

Archana Garodia Gupta (AGG): Because of my business background, I always knew that I was going to be an entrepreneur. After my MBA, I joined the family textile business. The advantage was that I got into strategy and decision-making roles quite early. I worked for the textile company for seven years. We started exporting, an initiative I really drove, and we went to virgin markets across the world. Most of the people we went to had never dealt with an Indian before. After we started working, the fax machine was launched, and then the Internet, but we still worked and did plenty of international business.

Then I got into the imitation jewellery business and we were essentially the pioneers. When we started, there were very few handicraft artisans. We set up a factory and started the first brand in imitation jewellery. The departmental stores, we spoke to, had never sold such products before. They were very skeptical to begin with, but within a short time the business took off. We soon were giving the highest return per square foot to the departmental stores, even more than the gold and garment trades. Now the size of the industry is estimated at Rs.15,000 crore. This has happened in the short time frame of just 15 years.

TDB: Which countries do you export to?

AGG: We are working extensively with US buyers at the moment, and not exploring any other market. We have our set customers in US. Our focus markets are US and the domestic one. In terms of the size of the market, if you consider US, imitation jewellery constitutes 93% of the US jewellery market.

TDB: How has the global slowdown, particularly in US, affected your overseas business?

AGG: We were adversely affected by the global slowdown. Initially, we were exporting far more as a percentage. But after the slowdown, we had to work harder to develop the domestic market. I believe there is a lot of potential in the domestic market. In these times of global economic uncertainty, and when India is doing better than most other economies, focussing on the domestic market will definitely help us balance the shortfall from exports.

TDB: Do you import raw material? If yes, from where?

AGG: Some of the stones are imported. But, otherwise metals that we use are mostly procured from the domestic market. We buy natural gemstones from Jaipur, but the rough ones are imported from overseas.

TDB: What are the major obstacles that the Indian gems & jewellery industry is currently facing?

AGG: The tax regime is very uncertain because tax rates are different in different states. This is a major problem. Besides, there is a standard problem in doing business; power, bureaucracy and inspectors. If there is no paperwork it will make a huge difference. On the exports front, if we can get credit at the international rate that would help us a lot. We are paying much more than any of our peers are across other countries.

TDB: So isn't the government doing anything?

AGG: We attended some meetings with the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and he had given us assurances. I think when the GST bill is passed, it will considerably benefit the industry. In USA, there are no forms and no inter-state taxes. This helps in having a uniform tax flow and improves the flow of trade too. But in India, the cost of compliance is very high, especially for smaller businesses. It is extremely painful – you need to be registered with so many different departments, submit returns at certain frequencies and pay high penalties in case of misses. A lot of my business has shifted from Noida to New Delhi because of compliance issues. If we need to improve the business environment we need to address these issues.

TDB: There has been a lot of talk about Ease of Doing Business and Make in India. Are they really working? 

AGG: The whole idea behind special economic zones (SEZs) was exactly that, but they are now floundering on the Land Acquisition Bill. I don’t really see any real change, surely not in my function. We are up for Ease of Doing Business and Make in India. We are promoting women’s industry, like the Women’s Industrial Park in Greater Noida. We have asked eight state governments, and they have given in-principle agreements to work with us, and Telangana has allotted some land to us for our facilities. Within Women’s Industrial park, we are asking for a single-window clearance, so that it becomes easier to do business. But then all this is taking time.

TDB: How important an 'economic role' do women play in today's times?

AGG: It’s important for women to realise that, like everyone else in the world, it’s alright for them to want to do something because that makes them happy. Women are not just there to facilitate their family members at the cost of their own happiness. As long as the women keep taking the back seat, thinking that they are less important than everyone else, they will continue to find themselves at the lower level. Motivate yourself, have the willpower to do what you want to do, and do not feel guilty about it. At the present time, women have a major economic role to play. There are many schemes and sources available, they should just go out and get it.

Next Page: Betting big on Tradition