DR. B. GOVINDAN

CHAIRMAN, BHIMA JEWELLERY, TRIVANDRUM (KERALA)

Dr. B. Govindan was born on 1 st Jun 1944 as the 3 rd son of late Sri. Bhima Bhattar, the founder father of Bhima Jewellery and Smt. Vanaja Bhima Bhattar at Alleppey, Kerala. He is a Commerce Graduate from S.D. College Alleppey and has a Doctorate in Gemology from University of Colombo. He began his career as a sales and Marketing Executive for Bhima & Bros, Alleppey, but is today the Chairman of Bhima Group, showing a turnover of over 1600 crores a year. His exposure to the jewellery world happened when as a little child he would spend time at the retail showroom – “learning the ropes” from his father.

Bhima is essentially a family run concern, and Dr. B. Govindan has been instrumental in spearheading the growth of the company from a single outlet retail store to a multi- outlet organization with outlets in Trivandrum, Nagercoil, Madurai, Adoor and Marthandam. Today it has many firsts and accomplishments under its belt.

Working as a trainee, the 9 year old Govindan saw the gold market go through its many phases, from the period of gold control to the prosperous peaks in the market and along the way picked up precious pointers that would become invaluable later. His keen eye, quick business sense and his perfectionist nature combined to give him an edge over the others in the market and emerge the market leader. Bhima has been one of the few businesses that has been passed down through generations over 90 years and has still managed to retain market leadership all through the years…

His skill and acumen in the business field and his passion for the jewellery community as a whole led to him achieving many firsts in the field. Bhima Jewellery bagged the first ISO-9001 certified Jewellery in India in 2001.It is the first BIS certified jewellery showroom in Kerala. It is the first jewellery store in Kerala which introduced the barcode system and rate card, which helps people know the right price of gold. It is also the first jewellery retail outlet to house an ATM in its premises. Bhima Jewellery is the highest VAT paying jeweller from a single outlet. It has been retaining its position of the Highest Sales Tax paying jewellery showroom award in the Kerala State for several years and also maintains the top position in the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF), conducted by the Dept. of Tourism, Govt of Kerala.

He also understood the importance of people in the trade. He realised that the backbone of business and a very major resource is people. He has been instrumental in shaping the organizational hierarchy into a flatter pyramid structure. The 500 strong team of employees work towards achieving their goals and targets and report periodically to the management heads. The employees are given EP, ESI and free Medi-claim by the Management. There is a contributory welfare fund of equal share of the employees and Management for the welfare of the employees. Free uniforms, food, lodging and conveyance are being provided. He is firm about bridging the gap between the employees and the management. He is also a staunch propagator of business with responsibility, he is the Trustee of Bhima Charities, which provides scholarship for the poor students of Kerala. A brilliant man, he kept on the moral ground and continued to strive for the betterment of the consumers as well as the business – a very good example of this is the fact that he was one of the first promoters of the knowledge of product and the importance of quality, a very good example of which was government certified hallmarking. The hallmarking awareness campaign, benefited a lot of consumers, who are essentially laymen, and it helped cut down cheating significantly.

His knowledge in the field is well established – and this is the reason that he has been placed in many positions of importance in the jewellery field. He is the working President of All Kerala Gold & Silver Merchants Association in addition to Vice-President of Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Chairman of the rate fixing Committee, Gold & Silver, Kerala. He is also a member of Governing Board of Directors of All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation and Govt. Approved Gold Valuer. He was the Jewellery Technical Advisory Committee Member of the Thirupathy Devasthanam from 1994 to 1999. In recognition of his contribution to the field of jewellery, he has bagged several honours. The ‘Karmashreshta Awardee’ for 2012 has been honoured with the ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ organised by ‘The Art of Jewellery Magazine’. A man of such tremendous experience, knowledge and insight with an insatiable thirst towards innovation, he has been instrumental in steering the business to success today and also to a large extent in changing the face of jewellery business for the better. It is no wonder that the economic times voted him one among the 6 top jewellers who controlled the gold in India (May of 2013).

The Art of Jewellery, India’s No.1 Jewellery Magazine in its 12 th anniversary January 2014 edition selected Dr. B. Govindan as one of the 50 Movers & Shakers of the Indian Gems and Jewellery Industry those are the 50 change makers, objectively compiled from across the four zones of India by the magazine’s editorial team without any bias. Bhima Jewellery Trivandrum under the dynamic leadership of Dr. B. Govindan has been nominated as the 5 Best Single Store of the Year-South by the National Jewellery Award 2014 conducted by The Gem & Jewellery Trade Federation.