Watches has been Shilpa’s passion since childhood, she recalls that even at the tender age of 12 years her affinity towards watches had been tremendous, as she used to only buy different types of time pieces whenever her allowance was given by her parents. And since then she subconsciously knew that if ever she will do something in her career it will related to watches only. Her epiphany came when she as 19 years old; one fine day while going through her collection of time pieces she observed that there was a sheer monotony in terms design.
This prompted her to think out of the box and embark on journey to create her own niche in the luxury segment of watches, incorporating contemporary and artistic designs to the convention laden industry.
Being such an essential accessory, it is a pity to see that there are limited options available in terms design, like square, oval, round, etc.
Recording time, dates back to ancient Egypt, where obelisks where used to indicate the hour by the shadow casted by the Sun’s light. However, being usable only at daytime, further developments surfaced in the practice of recording time like candle clocks, water clocks, and then finally the birth of modern day clock mechanism. The history of clocks and the practice of recording time have been captured in detail by Ms. Choksi in her stateof-the-art ‘Time Museum’, speaking on which she adds that there has not been much innovation in watch designs in the recent past. Her museum is a delight to watch connoisseurs and common man alike, and one is greeted with the audio recording about the historyof time by none other than Gulzar!
Shilpa is a force not to be reckoned with; her strong zeal and passion was the driving force during her initial days of struggle as there was no formal education available in watch design, thus, she went on a crusade herself to learn about designing a watch. Coming out with WHERE THE BUCK GOES/ENTREPRENEUR flying colours, Shilpa solely managed to manufacture her first series of watches, encapsulating a chic appeal in all the individual pieces.
“The first 2 years were the hardest! Had to make frequent trips to the local watchmakers to understand the mechanism of a watch and later finding a suitable strategy to position my products in the market.”
It’s inspiring to know that Shilpa returned the loan of Rs. 5 Lacs from her family to start the business in a matter of 2 months after entering the market. She credits her success to a carefully thought branding strategy, which was conjured by her through an extensive research and brainstorming. This was elemental for her business to succeed as her products are very exclusive, catering to a selected segment of the target market. “The premium attribute of the watch was to be imbedded in the perception of her customers, which she achieved by keeping a limited point of sales and building upon word-of-mouth publicity. The branding strategy worked and within 2 years, Shilpa managed to establish her brand as the destination for affluent and HNI customers, venturing gradually from Ahmedabad into new territories like Delhi and Mumbai with an outlet in each city.
The House of Marigold over the years have evolved into a design firm, having a wide variety of designer watches, gems and jewellery and other unique fashion accessory like jeweled sunglasses, rendering Shilpa as a sought after designer.
“Passion!”, spoke aloud by an elated Shilpa when asked about her secret to success. “You can have all the money of the word, all the resources of the world but you are to bound to destruct if you do not have a never ending passion towards your endevaour”, she adds when asked about her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. Though she advises not to enter the market at present as it is a bad time given there is no rotation of money accounting to the aftershocks from the fiscal measures taken by the government.
Speaking upon her HR policies, Shilpa say that for her, loyalty towards the brand is the essential component that she tries to find in an employee. Given her constant travel routine it becomes necessary for her to have a team of people committed to the growth of Marigold like the way she
herself is.
“Rolex can have multiple pieces of one design but at The House Marigold, every piece is unique, one in the whole wide world”
This exclusivity of Marigold watches have gathered attention and interest of many Bollywood celebrities who are now treasured customers of the brand. The celebrities include from the
likes of Amitabh Bachhan, Gulzar, Karisma Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty and many more.
Her general dislike towards monotony in terms of design prompts her to innovate and
create amazing products, one such product is Marigold Eye, a collection of designer jewel studded eyewear. She takes her inspiration from nature as she believes that nature is the ultimate source of aesthetical beauty. No wonder Marigold is a hit in the exhibitions where the company regularly participates.
The House of Marigold vehemently participates in social initiatives and Shilpa has personally contributed towards spreading awareness about Breast Cancer in association with Zydus Hospital. They also invite disabled girls to their exhibitions to display their craft and urge their
customers to buy their craft whether or not they are buying a Marigold product. Shilpa has previously
contributed to the disaster relief campaign during the time of Gujarat earthquake.
