Buoyant Brilliance - KARP Group

KARP's concept is to push inexorably for excellence, to progress innovative and productive concepts, research oriented development planning, to continuously grow through outstanding products, and compelling global strategic alliances. Thus, making it one of the most renowned diamond companies of the country. KARP is recognised by the Government of India as a Star Trading House. Being one of the most well respected diamond companies in India and in the world, the group has received the most impressive awards by the Gems &Jewellery Export Promotion Council and the Government of India for its export accomplishments and committed services to its customer for several years.

KARP is advantaged to be a DTC Sightholder since 1993. While such privilege ensures access to reliable and consistent supplies of rough diamonds across a wide range of sizes, it also reflects the kind of responsibilities that KARP accepts. These represent KARP's commitment to its suppliers, channel partners, eventual consumers and its own social conscience.The group employs over 8,000 personnel at its state-of-the-art diamond cutting and polishing factories. The factories are well equipped with cutting edge diamond processing technology such as VibFree console; Hi-Gain, 5-axes laser technology, Auto-Pol console and Russian Pacor technology for the production of both fancy and brilliant cut diamonds as well as personalised cuts.

From more than 47 years of diamond cutting and distribution experience KARP has developed in-house ERP & CRM software to manage the complexities of the diamond trade. From the point of allocation, through every stage, until the final sale, each step is well managed and controlled by a loyal and responsible management team.

Anil Virani, Director, Karp Impex shares with us the glittering history for this exemplary brand. He enthuses, “KARP laid its first foundation stone in the 1980’s. It’s a brainchild of four Virani brothers; Kishor, Anil, Ramesh and Pankaj. Establishment of KARP Group is dedicated to our father’s passion for diamond cutting and polishing. The value system, which the third generation of our family imbibes today, is purely based on their grandfather’s principles and way of life. As a group, our emphasis has always been on excellence, assurance and reliability. Our father’s vision is to be the most dynamic diamantaire, setting highest standards in products, services, reliability and creating sustainable solutions essential for the entire industry has been the major driving force that has led to all the success today.”

It is no easy feat to build and maintain such huge empire but with family support and accurate division of work, the brand is growing from strength to strength. While speaking about the work division, Anil Virani shares, “It is a family-owned business and so, all of us play equally important roles at KARP. Sourcing & purchase of rough diamonds is mutually carried out while other sectors of business have been delegated as per individual expertise. Kishor Virani, the Chairman of KARP Group along with his son, Keval takes care of the manufacturing operations – mainly diamond cutting and polishing units in Surat and Jasdan. My son, Nirav and I look after the financial sector, import & export operations and sales of polished diamonds in India. My youngest brother, Ramesh Virani and his son, Smit look after the marketing and sales of polished diamond, diamond jewellery manufacturing and jewellery sales operations in South East Asia. Pankaj Virani and his son Hardik, who reside in Belgium, manage our sales operations in the European continent. The other third generation members of the Virani family are under training and will be joining us soon.”

India is the cradle of the world’s diamond industry and one can find large number of diamond groups here but there are very few that have distinguished themselves from the others not just by immense growth but also morals and ethics. Throwing light on the company’a mantra, Anil Virani says, “Our father has been our greatest inspiration and his morals and values are the cornerstone of KARP’s success. We have a clear distinction between principled actions and prudential ones. As a responsible group, we believe in minimising risks and maximising profits by adhering to professional codes of conduct, following established protocols and decorum required of every businessman, and built a trust worthy reputation.”

When quizzed if that is the main reason behind their success and consistent top position, he concurs and adds, “Our manufacturing units are designed and equipped to be ahead of time with most advanced technologies mostly developed in-house. Our experts have devised a stringent quality control system to ensure our products surpass the global quality standards at every stage of production. KARP’s savoir-faire and infrastructure together have developed a knowledge driven culture that reduces time enhances quality and adds value for customers. We have been continually fine tuning our efficiencies with the help of our in-house R&D sphere which undertakes activities that ensure we stay true to our vision. Directed towards enhancement and innovation, this unit focuses on developing systems and equipment that aid in achieving lean manufacturing and process engineering. In conjunction with the R&D sphere, one of KARP’s vital offshoots - Studio 361 degree is engaged in conceiving, design and developing diamond cuts, settings and jewellery. Studio 361 degree undertakes research, analysis and trend forecasting to proactively work with our clients. This off-shoot designs and develops niche innovative products.”

He further adds, “Since more than four decades, KARP is known for its quality of products and work ethics. Outstanding designers, inspirational designs and unblemished craftsmanship is what KARP is best known for. We concentrate on living up to our image of being one of the most trusted and inventive diamantaires and jewellers. While we are appreciated as the most ahead of its time diamond manufacturers, we are also looked upon as one of the trendsetters within the jewellery industry. From the quality of diamond cuts to various findings in jewellery – every little detail is given the utmost attention to ensure that the final product comes alive and interacts with the onlooker. Whether it is polished diamonds or a piece of jewellery, it is always the quality that appeals to our clients.”

Sharing insights of the group’s market approach, he articulates, “Products need to be marketed correctly to create awareness among customers and to get consumer feedback. Our business model uses benefits of both ‘pull’ and ‘push’ strategies to market and distribute our products. Once the desired product is developed, it is crucial to make that product available in its optimum market to add high value. This calls for a proficient distribution channel and profound understanding of consumer needs. We foresee potential core markets, penetrate them, and achieve significant market share. Because of deep understanding of consumer needs, we can continually tailor our product assortments according to regional needs and consumption patterns. We also integrate our products and related services with the needs of our clients. It is our constantly improving quality of products and services that compel our clients to be loyal to KARP products. In a nut shell our strategic objectives are focused on consumer demand, effective distribution and being able to uphold a good reputation of our products and KARP Group.”

Every company witnesses a changing point in its history, it may be for the worse or for the better. These points are the framework of the company that fosters learning and experiences. When requested to share a bit about the changing point of Karp group, Anil Virani states, “Civilization starts out rough and raw, mean and unfair and slowly evolves in the direction of something principled and enduring. Similarly, I’ve seen the diamond industry evolve significantly. In past two decades, the industry has experienced momentous structural changes in the value chain. 1990 onwards category marketing helped us increase sales of diamonds phenomenally. But, when that stopped in 2008, generic marketing that benefited the entire industry became harder to justify. And the returns on category marketing became harder to quantify. It was then, that we decided to step up our efforts to boost consumer demand jointly with some of our premium clients.”

The 2008 crisis gives shudders to the diamond industry even now. The times have improved since then, but the challenges are still eminent. Speaking about the challenges the company and the other Indian diamantaires are facing, he expresses, “A major contributor to the creditable performance of the industry is the massive diamond manufacturing sector, which employs nearly one million people across India. There is no other country apart from India that is able to position itself as the country for jewellery. The biggest threat for Indian jewellers is not moving up the value chain, as they will lose the entire business to the Chinese. If the Indian jewellery industry continues to consider itself as jewellery suppliers, they will lose the pricing war against the Chinese. We feel that India needs to position itself as jewellers driven by heritage, tradition and craftsmanship. In past, the unorganised and highly fragmented nature of the Indian gems and jewellery industry had its own advantages and disadvantages.

Ambiguity of the tax regime remains the biggest hurdle for the large organised rough producing companies to set up base in India. However, now the organised sectors are growing and some of the unorganised players are adapting to being organised. Thus, with the potential of the industry and implementation of several initiatives and policies, India in a short span will emerge as a global player. Recently, due to a strong devaluation of the rupee, polished goods in the Indian market have become very high-priced. Despite of the rise in price, diamond demand continues to be boosted by sales in the United States, Western Europe and Japan. As Chinese and Indian consumers continue to adopt certain Western traditions, we are focusing on growing diamond and jewellery sales in these regions as well.”

While speaking about the strategies to combat the aforementioned challenges and the company’s future goals, Anil Viranisays, “It is necessary to diversify product portfolio in order to combat the current demand crunch. For product diversification we will climb up the value chain and put prevailing practices into action. We strongly believe that the industry needs to shift from commoditised selling to design based selling. At the moment KARP is preparing its newest range of innovations and the group visions on its R&D. Because it is simply in the blood, the third generation of the Virani family is preparing for a new adventure with the upcoming products. Driven by the question ‘what moves people?’ our in-house team of professionals will analyse product and market trends from our product perspective. The goal is to inspire people by showing them what can be achieved with inventive products and to develop ethos that will help us make a change, as well as motivate others to help create great things for the industry.”

While concluding the interview, we asked the ever-busy Anil Virani to share his views on the current plight of the Indian diamond industry and its future in next five years. “Though the diamond sales have bottomed out, the industry is expected to witness positive growth in festive months during October-December 2013. At present, the outlook is positive; with robust six percent growth anticipated in 2014. China and India will likely to continue to serve as big engines of demand. Because diamond gemstones are a luxury good and not a commodity, the global diamond jewellery market moves in parallel with the broader market for luxury goods and jewellery. Despite suggestions that other luxury or high-end goods may replace diamonds, diamond jewellery for now remains a relevant and desired gift option among consumers. The United States remains the undisputed leader in consumption within the global luxury goods market, even though Asia’s share of consumption is growing fast. We foresee that the demand for rough diamonds is expected to outpace supply under all considered scenarios, indicating a strong positive outlook for the industry. On the other hand an expanding middle class in China and India, together with the recovery of private consumption levels in developed countries, should generate robust demand.”