OUR LEGACY
The Beginning
The legacy of Kota is one that has grown beyond boundaries. The name "kota" travelled all the way from the industrial segments of Bangalore to Coimbatore, and made an indelible impression in the jewel city's world.
This 90 year old golden journey began when the illustrious Bangalore couple Shri Kota Kamakshia Shetty and Smt. Radhamma chose their young child Shri Dhuruva Kumar Kota to be the sole heir to the empire of the famous BRN family of Coimbatore. His foster parents Shri Bellam Nataraja Chettiar and Smt. Santhana Lakshmi Ammal lavished attention on the young Shri Dhuruva Kumar Kota and ventured into the jewellery business by opening BRN Jewellery in 1924.
Shri Kota Kamakshia Shetty and Smt. Radhamma
Shri Bellam Nataraja Chettiar
Shri Bellam Nataraja Chettiar (1905 - 1973)
The BRN family brought to Coimbatore several new concepts to the Coimbatore trader community. As the founders of the Town Bank, and the Vartaga Viruddhi Bank, their approaches to trading and doing business were widely appreciated across the community. The Jewellery Association of Coimbatore also vastly benefited from their position as its treasurer for over 40 Years.
The BRN family's association with Bangalore also enabled them to introduce the first ornaments into the gold market of Coimbatore. BRN was the first brand of gold jewellery to carve itself a niche, in the vastly unorganised gold industry of Coimbatore. They became icons of trust and exclusivity in the city and their fame travelled far and wide. This legacy paved the way for his son Shri Dhuruva Kumar to take the baton from him, and to take the kota name to brand new heights.
Photo of Shri Bellam Nataraja Chettiar and Smt. Santhana Lakshmi (centre) Shri Dhuruva Kumar (right) and Smt. Shantakumari (left) along with their three sons
Shri Dhuruvakumar (1938 - 2014)
Buoyed by the encouragement given by his father and his wife Smt Shantakumari, Shri Dhuruva Kumar Kota began a wholesale jewellery business in Coimbatore and its neighbouring areas. Although he initially faced minor resistance from within the family to expand the business at such a rapid pace, he relentlessly pursued his goal until the hallmark of Kota was indeibly stamped in the gold markets throughout India.
In no time, he began exporting jewellery to the United States, UK, Canada, UAE, and other foreign countries. Success after success allowed him to open Thattil Jewellers, a jewellery showroom in Sharjah, the heart of the gold market of the world. After a series of successes, Shri Dhuruva Kumar Kota laid his eyes on Sharjah, the heart of the gold market of the world for his new venture. This was when he asked his middle son Shri Badrinath Kota to elevate the family business to the international stage.
Shri Dhuruva Kumar Kota
Photo of BRN Jewellery
Shri Badrinath Kota (1964 - Present)
Having completed his graduation in Bachelors in engineering and a diploma in Gemmology from Mumbai, Shri Badrinath Kota joined the family business by launching Thattil Jewellers in 1989. He spear headed the growth of the store for 7 Years, largely catering to the South Indian population present in Dubai, Sharjah, and other emirates. After moving back to Coimbatore in 1995, Shri Badrinath Kota and his father Shri Dhuruva Kumar launched Kota Jewellers Pvt Ltd, the crown jewel store of the kota empire located at Raja Street.
Shri D Badrinath Kota
A young Badrinath Kota (Right) along with his sponsor (left) in Thattil Jewellers UAE
Kota Jewellers, Raja Street
It is safe to say that Kota Jewellers took off like no one could predict. It became one of the go to places to buy jewellery in coimbatore. Customers from various cities like coorg, kambam, chennai, bangalore, palakkad, thrishur, kochi would travel to coimbatore just to buy jewellery pieces for their family functions and weddings. It was part of the tradition in many villages to only buy thaalis and mangal sutras from Kota Jewellers if someone was getting married. The number of testimonials the shop has heard about its unique collections and fair prices were uncounatble.
Front View of Kota Jewellers at Raja Street
An old video of our staff tending to a customer at Kota Jewellers
Interiors of Kota Jewellers
While people from other districts flocked to see our collection, that didn't stop our collection reaching other districts. Kota Jewellers would routinely set up jewellery exhibitions across South India, taking our vast and unique collection to present to brand new customers and markets. Kota Jewellers set up more than a 100 exhibitions in towns and cities like Ooty, Sivakasi, Thirunanveli, Madurai, Chennai, Pollachi, Erode, Rajapalyam etc.
These weren't just any average stalls, the exhibitions were so decadent and elaborate, that people believed that we were setting up a new shop there! Advertisements would run across multiple mediums; news paper articles, ad boards, pamphlets, radio announcements, even tv banners would inform crowds about our exhibitions and our collection.
Pictures of our many exhibitions across South India
Our shop was also the first Akshaya Trititya sale in coimbatore, an occasion considered auspicious for buying gold. This was because the then Indian MD of the World Gold Council Mr Shivram first had talks with only a hand full of jewellers across India about this concept, a group Kota Jewellers was a part of. In the same vein, Kota Jewellers was also the first jewellery store to start the Aadi Sale in Coimbatore. The shop would conduct carnivals, sale exhibitions and many other events on days like this.
Picture of our store during Akshaya Tritiya
Customer support and loyalty has been the singular reason that Kota Jewellers has been able to retain an appreciable share of the jewellery market in Coimbatore. Our relentless push towards serving the customer has been the sole reason for our customer retention. Every customer was greeted with cold glass of lemon juice, each purchase was handed over with a small prayer and good wishes and was well packaged with jute bags and a complimentary potted plant, something unheard of in the industry. Our new and young customers have admitted to us saying that their interest in jewellery only sparked by seeing our collection. We even had two family customer's sons and daughters match right in our store and finally get married! We believe our customers would agree with the slogan we used in all our ads, "Kota, onga thankamana kadai", which roughly translates to "Kota, your personal precious store".
An old advertisement played in theatres
A TV advertisement
A New Chapter
A crucial element for thriving in any market is adapting to new trends and conforming to the changing times. A large portion of the gold and silk market in coimbatore shifted from the old part of town to the new one, just like any growing city. This gave us the opportunity for us to start a new store in the booming streets of tatabad gandhipuram. An old house turned into a jewellery boutique with a few modifications to the building and additions of reclaimed and antique balinese furniture, this new store felt like home not just to us but to our customers as well. A slightly narrow passage yet adorned with plants and pargolas, that make the entrance seem like an enchanting space into where the past and future come together elegantly. Careful thought was given to details like light, furniture and space of each section, giving the jewellery the unique attention it deserves, yet making sure it blends in with the rest of the surroundings flawlessly.
After much thought, it became evident that there is a new chapter in our legacy. The first transition was to shift from our beloved store in raja street, to our new store in 11th street tatabad. The next transition was to uplift our design, branding and identity so that it not only reflects the markets new trends, but to also adapt to the ever increasing social media market and digital age. We believe it is our duty strike a balance between keeping an age old tradition of buying jewellery,
The Kota Jewellers Family