Nina Jewellers

Romancing The Stone!

Kiran and her husband Dr Praful Vaid’s Jewellery store Nina Jewellers has indeed a wonderful tale to tell. Read on to know more about this successful business that became the jewel in their crown.

It was indeed written in the stones oops in the stars, we mean. Ms. Kiran Vaid and her husband Dr. Praful Vaid opened the first Indian Jewellery store in New Jersey in 1987.

In 1987, the ambience was pretty stark - Edison had only one grocery store and two restaurants in the area. The Vaids’ launched the first Indian Jewellery store in the entire state of New Jersey. They opened the store on Oak tree Road in Edison, New Jersey as the area was mushrooming with Indians buying homes in this area.

It was also the advent of the Tech boom that brought in several Indians on H1B visas to reside in New Jersey. Indians love space which was amply available in New Jersey unlike in New York which was as congested as Mumbai. But it eas also pretty close to traverse to - a hop skip and jump across the Hudson river from New York and you landed in New Jersey.

So how did it all start?

Kiran did not come from a business family, but she had experience working in a jewellery store before she got married. She did not want to work for anybody else - and that is how Kiran and Praful decided to open up their own jewellery store. Dr Praful, however, came from a business family. His brother used to own a jewellery store in London. Later when the business flourished, Kiran and Praful ventured into the clothing business too. They opened a clothing store in Edison as well as a jewellery store in Washington DC and a jewellery store in Florida. At the moment, the clothing store in Edison is managed by Kiran’s sister, the jewellery store in Washington DC is managed by Kiran’s brother and the jewellery store in Florida in managed by Dr. Praful’s brother who migrated from London.

A bit Of A Struggle and Then Success!

The initial years were very rough for Kiran who was managing the store singlehandedly. At that time, they lived in Manhattan and she had to travel to Edison everyday till they decided to buy a house in Edison, New Jersey. Every day before coming to the store, she used to visit the wholesaler in Manhattan to purchase jewellery and then go to her store. Unfortunately, her husband could not help her much in the business as he was busy in his own field and could not devote much time to help Kiran. He had to manage his practice - so the entire business was managed single-handled by Kiran. Kiran has three daughters, and it was a challenge for her to manage the business and look after her children as well. She recalls how the kids came from school in the evening and literally sat in the car doing their homework till she closed the store.

Positive Vibe

But the business did well more so because Kiran has a pleasing and giving personality. She is also calm and composed - and these attributes have helped her overcome the rough times when she had to manage the business and home all by herself. All the buying for the jewellery store was done by Kiran. The best years of business as Kiran recalls were the onset of the Tech Boom. Kiran recalls the time when there used to be a line outside the store to buy jewellery - as you know Indians are passionate about buying gold. It is one of the safe investments one could make. Gold is always needed when there is marriage in the household. The price of Gold during that time was very cheap. Kiran remembers the price was at $ 500 to an ounce - and people just bought as much as they could. She also recalls the time when gold prices fell to $ 250. However, the lustre of gold has never depreciated again - and it stands at $ 2000 today.

Business Struck Gold

Over the period of years, the business as grew on Oaktree road. There are 60 boutiques, 10 jewellery stores, several restaurants and fast-food places and the area has become one of the biggest Indian marketplaces in New Jersey. Over the period of years, there have been new markets that have opened up in Jersey City and North Brunswick to name a few, however people still travel to Oak Tree Road in Edison, New Jersey to buy their gold and other jewellery. Kudos to the entrepreneur skills of Kiran and her husband Dr Praful Vaid who managed to make their jewellery business grow from scratch to this wonderful successful endeavour.