Changing market dynamics, supply chain volatility, and the aim to become a global market leader are driving jeweller and event promoter Parthiban Murugaiyan, 54, to consider several options, including a possible listing, for his S$150 million business.
Growing through a strategic blend of high-footfall location optimisation, targeted brand segmentation, and rapid international expansion, the business currently comprises several jewellery outlets across multiple local and overseas locations under the Ishtara and Luvenus brands, as well as premier event and concert promoter Maestro Productions.
The energetic Mr Parthiban told tabla! that growth “is constrained by the huge amount of funding needed to start a new shop, especially for jewellery, and so progress can be slow”.
The group is in discussions with relevant parties including consultants, but the listing process may take “some time”. Listed jewellers include Switzerland’s Richemont, which owns Van Cleef & Arpels; and India’s Tata-backed Titan Company which owns Tanishq.
Beyond the personal, Mr Parthiban is also bringing his skills and expertise to bear on his role as vice-chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), where the leadership team will help members adapt to rapid technological change, including artificial intelligence adoption and digital transformation.
Second Jewellery Outlet Timed for Deepavali Rush At Iconic Location
Opting to run the family business instead of pursuing his childhood dream of becoming a pilot, he started to think about strategic relocation and market expansion.
Ishtara’s move from the relatively low footfall Chander Road to the main Serangoon Road thoroughfare in 1997 propelled the business. The relocation took advantage of India opening up in the 1990s and South Asians moving abroad in large numbers. They purchased in Singapore as duty on gold back home made it more expensive, and because of the trust in Singapore quality.
Competition was also much less. “There were probably just about three or four jewellery outlets at that time,” Mr Parthiban said.
Not one to stay put for long, a new showroom at the iconic former Komala Vilas Restaurant location at 76-78 Serangoon Road is timed to open for the Deepavali season - typically the busiest purchasing period of the year for Indian households.
Jumping on the retail chain wagon
“My dream was to open retail chains, a brand not only in Singapore but on a global level,” Mr Parthiban explains.
The opportunity arose in 2012. As Changi Airport was getting several enquiries about jewellery from Indian tourists, it issued a tender for a jewellery outlet in which Mr Parthiban’s bid was successful. Luvenus Jewellery was born and has won several awards.
He found that Chinese and Filipino tourists were also buying jewellery even if the range of designs in Chinatown were different from Little India.
So, he expanded to Lucky Plaza, which is well patronised by Filipinos and offered accessible, high-quality 22k and 24k gold jewellery with layaway and installment plans.
To tap into the Chinese market, they moved into Hong Kong, which was somewhat similar to Singapore in terms of transparency, pro-business and encouraging foreign investors. After Hong Kong airport, we opened three outlets in the city.”
Gold will remain as part of the core business going forward as Mr Parthiban believes that it is culturally embedded and investment oriented, with resilient demand and long term appreciation.
The business does come with its challenges. Rising operational costs, competition from major overseas brands and unique security risks in the capital-intensive sector need to be managed along with shifting Gen Z preferences requiring modern designs.
Mr Parthiban leverages Singapore’s reputation for quality and first-mover advantage. His agility to maintain supply chain continuity has also helped, especially when disruptions during the Middle East conflict prompted rerouting sourcing from Dubai to Italy, Turkey, India and Malaysia.
He demands nothing less from his successors. “The next generation must earn their place through bottom up experience, working across all departments including sales, cashiering, and accounting before assuming leadership,” he said.
As new outlets are opened, Ishtara became an early adopter of automation, barcode tagging, and digital inventory scanning long before it became an industry standard, pulling the business out of manual sorting and counting.
The group’s in-house IT team has developed a comprehensive mobile app to enable global reach, and it functions as a virtual shop offering e-commerce services, instalment plans, custom orders, reservations and payments - replicating the full service experience except for direct human interaction.
From Jewellery to Events
“That was never in my plan. It came by chance because we used to sponsor concerts as a jewellery brand. Then as we went along, I thought why don’t we do something on our own instead of sponsoring,” he said.
Maestro Productions’ debut featured renowned Indian film composer Ilaiyaraaja at The Star Theatre in 2018, and despite a two-year pause during Covid-19, Maestro Productions has organised 27 concerts to date. On Sept 26, the popular musician Anirudh Ravichander performed live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, celebrating 15 years of his musical career.
Already operating in seven countries including the USA, Canada, UK, and Australia, Mr Parthiban aims to bring in non-Indian pop stars next.
Mr Parthiban’s third hat is being SICCI vice-chairman. With extensive board experience, he and others in the leadership team aim to enhance member value via networking events, sector focus groups, delegations, and program acceleration.
The strategy involves looking beyond Singapore and India by leveraging on global Indian trade chambers such as those in the USA, Australia, and Malaysia to facilitate member opportunities, share Singapore trade strengths and broaden networks.
