Gitanjali: We'll Still Expand
With chairman Randy McCullough’s departure, and the general economic climate, many had been wondering about whether Gitanjali USA will stay in expansion mode.
But I just spoke with Deepak Gandhi, CEO of the now 132-store chain, which includes Samuels and Rogers – and he says the company’s growth will continue.
“We will continue to expand,” he said. “We see this climate as a wonderful opportunity to make inroads. We will expand our offerings, especially of branded products; introduce additional services and enhance the shopping experience for our customers.”
But he cautioned “we will be careful and selective in geographic expansions.”
For instance, Gitanjali at one point looked at purchasing the entire Whitehall chain, but in the end purchased no stores, he said.
While Gandhi admits these are challenging times, he said his company is focused on adding brands, and says the “Passion Stone” and others have done well. He also argues that his company’s vertically integrated model — it’s also a sight holder and jewelry manufacturer — gives it an edge.
Meanwhile, Gitanjali chairman Mehul Choksi is now chairman of Gitanjali USA, and the company has also promoted David Dellaglio to COO.
“We see these as exciting times,” Gandhi said, “and also unfortunate and interesting times, all rolled into one.”
MJB commented:
Samuels is interesting...they have a presence here but aren't in
every mall like the big three (even Whitehall and Fred Meyer have
more of a presence). They don't have any in malls anchored by a
"luxury" anchor (Nordstrom, L&T, NM, Saks, Bloomingdales, etc.)
locally. They've never refurbished their stores either (and their
stores are VERY fluorecent light intense). The only thing that has
changed are their merchandise, duratrans, and catalogs. This leads
me to believe that Gitanjali doesn't like high expenses, and that
they are definitely looking at the capturing the middle market
(despite their pricing being higher and out of sync with the
competition). Interestingly, they remind me of Four Points in that
they are trying to "upgrade" the quality of their clientle, like M.
Forte did with Gordon's, and are trying to sell their parent
company's merchandise mostly. I just don't see Samuels
differentiating themselves though...the "designer" bridal lines are
generic and don't tell a story, and their watch selection is
basically various Bulova brands. I would think that they could at
least work on their brands by using the department store strategy
of being inspired by (but NOT copying, like Sirena!) strong brands
and creating a similar collection.
