Integrated player with presence across the value chain
We are an integrated company having presence across the various segments of the value chain. We source roughs from a variety of suppliers including our Subsidiary, process them for exports and also for manufacturing our branded jewellery. We retail the jewellery through our stores under our own brands. By having a strong presence across the value chain, we are able to minimize risk and optimize profitability of operations. Going forward, we plan to increase the integration as we expand the operations of our Russian Subsidiary and increase our retail network.

Promoters experience of over four decades in the Gems & Jewellery industry
We benefit from the experience of our Promoters and the core management team. Our Promoters have been in the business of gems and jewellery for over four decades and have built immense experience and strong relationships with both suppliers and customers in the industry. Our founder, Mr. Nand Lal Goenka entered this business in 1969 and has established strong contacts with both international and domestic customers. Mr. Navneet Goenka and Mr. Nitin Goenka have a combined experience of over 21 years in the diamond business.

Our core strength lies in the extensive knowledge of our core management team which helps us execute our growth strategies. Most of our key managerial personnel have substantial experience in the gems and jewellery industry. We believe that having a strong management team with extensive experience enables us to respond to changing market conditions and evolving preferences of our customers and is essential to our overall success and our future growth.

Expertise in processing larger sized stones
Our focus has been on technological skill in processing of large size (high carat) diamonds which provides higher margins. India‘s major contribution has been in processing smaller sized diamonds while larger stones processed in countries like Belgium, Israel, etc. Over the years, we believe that we have built the required expertise in this area, which differentiates us and gives us an edge over most of our Indian competitors.

Strong designing and production capabilities with modern equipments
We have an extensive design bank which allows us to manufacture a variety of jewellery as per requirements. We have an in-house design team besides some select freelance designers for designing jewellery in line with the latest trends and customer preferences in the least possible time-frame.

We use the advanced technology and equipment in our manufacturing facilities to enable us to process the rough diamonds in the most efficient and optimal manner and allow us to design the highest quality jewellery. We have been certified as an ISO 9001:2000 company which stands for product quality assurance system. Further, majority of the diamonds used in CERES jewellery are certified by Gemological Institute of America (GIA), a globally renowned certification institutes.

Well diversified customer base
In the last few years, we have diversified our export client base and have entered new markets for our export business. Our main countries for exports include US, South East Asia, and Hong Kong. Our focus on untapped markets for export of polished diamonds. This allowed us to earn higher margins due to our early mover advantage. Our second largest market, Hong Kong primarily acts as hub for re-export to other countries. We have significantly increased our focus on the South East Asian region which emerged as our biggest market in Fiscal 2009.

Further, we have increased sales to the local Indian market which accounts for more than 10% of our diamond segment sales in Fiscal 2009 from Nil in Fiscal 2007. Thus we are less dependent on the vagaries of a single economy.
We were able to increase our Diamond Business segment sales by 110.10% in Fiscal 2009 over Fiscal 2008.
For the same period, the exports of cut and polished diamonds by the Indian diamond industry rose by 2.68% in rupee terms.

Source:
GJEPC website: http://www.gjepc.org/pdf/Current_updates/Exports_of_Gems_and_Jewellery_for_April_08__March_09__Summary_.pdf