MSME Briefing Bureau

162 years of trust, succession and the courage to hand over the reins!

What does it take for a family business to survive 162 years? At Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, the answer was never simply gold. It was the ability to understand changing customers, build trust into the business model, give the next generation real responsibility and, eventually, recognise that ownership itself may have a shelf life. As the Zaveri family prepares to hand control to GRT Jewellers, TBZ offers a rare lesson in how a family legacy can evolve without a family battle.

It began with one shop—and trust

In 1864, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri began the family jewellery business with its flagship store in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar.

For generations, the Zaveri name grew around craftsmanship, quality and customer trust. But the family did something more important than simply preserve its reputation: it repeatedly changed the business ahead of the market.

In 1938, TBZ became the first Indian jewellery house to offer a buyback guarantee. That was a significant innovation in a business where customers worried about purity, value and what would happen when jewellery was exchanged or sold.

The family was effectively saying: we will stand behind what we sell.

That promise helped convert a jewellery transaction into a relationship.

The Zaveris understood that jewellery habits were changing

The next major shift came in 1995, when TBZ became the first jewellery house to launch lightweight jewellery.

This was not merely a new product category. It recognised a changing Indian consumer.

Jewellery was moving beyond weddings, festivals and major family occasions. There was room for pieces that could be worn more frequently and by younger consumers.

That thinking became an important part of TBZ’s evolution into a modern jewellery retailer. The company subsequently introduced 100% pre-hallmarked jewellery, certified solitaire diamonds and other customer-oriented initiatives.

For today’s jewellery entrepreneurs, this is perhaps the first lesson: heritage is useful only when it keeps responding to the customer.

From Zaveri Bazaar to organised retail

A particularly important phase began when Shrikant Zaveri took over the business in 2001.

The challenge was no longer simply to protect a famous family store. It was to convert a family reputation into a scalable organisation.

TBZ moved towards professionalisation, invested in systems and manufacturing, expanded its showroom network and eventually entered the capital market.

In 2012, TBZ was listed on both the BSE and NSE through an IPO of ₹200 crore. The move gave the business access to public capital and marked a significant transition—from a family-controlled jewellery house to a listed corporate enterprise.

That distinction matters.

The family did not merely expand the number of shops; it changed the architecture of the business.

By FY2025–26, TBZ had reached 37 stores across 28 cities and 13 states, with more than 1,00,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The company had moved a long way from its single-store origins.

And its roots remained visible. Maharashtra and Gujarat—regions deeply connected with the Zaveri story—became important parts of the retail footprint.

Succession was designed, not left to chance

The most interesting family-business lesson, however, may be inside the Zaveri family itself.

Shrikant Zaveri brought the next generation into the business and gave his daughters Binaisha and Raashi Zaveri defined responsibilities.

Binaisha became involved across human resources, operations, finance, business development, marketing and merchandising, and played a key role in opening showrooms across multiple cities.

Raashi, a graduate gemologist, became involved in ERP, accounting, merchandising, design and corporate management.

This is an important distinction for family businesses.

Succession is not simply about deciding who gets the business.

It is about deciding who will do what.

Clear executive responsibilities create accountability, allow the next generation to develop operating credibility and reduce the possibility of two family members trying to control the same territory.

There is no dramatic family feud in the TBZ story to explain the transition. That itself is instructive.

Good succession does not need a crisis to become visible.

And then came the decision to let go

On 31 August 2026, GRT Jewellers India Private Limited agreed to acquire 74.12% of TBZ from the Zaveri family and promoter-group entities, for up to ₹1,033.71 crore. A mandatory open offer for up to 25.88% of TBZ was also announced.

The transaction effectively ends the Zaveri family’s direct control of a business whose story began in Zaveri Bazaar 162 years ago.

But this should not automatically be framed as a failure of succession.

The family has not publicly set out its complete rationale for the sale. What can be seen, however, is that TBZ has already gone through several transformations—one store, modern retail, lightweight jewellery, professional management, public listing and national expansion.

The latest transformation is ownership.

For GRT, the acquisition provides an established brand and a platform with 37 stores across 28 cities. For the Zaveris, it provides an opportunity to monetise value built over generations.

The deeper lesson is uncomfortable but valuable:

A family legacy does not have to mean permanent family ownership.

What should the next generation of jewellers learn?

Build trust into the proposition. TBZ’s 1938 buyback guarantee was a business innovation, not merely advertising.

Keep reinventing the product. Lightweight jewellery showed that even a heritage jeweller must understand changing lifestyles.

Professionalise before you need to. Systems, capital, governance and retail discipline become critical when a business moves beyond the founder’s direct control.

Give successors jobs, not just shares. Binaisha and Raashi’s defined responsibilities show how ownership can be supported by operating accountability.

And finally, do not treat exit as defeat.

A founder’s responsibility is not necessarily to hold the steering wheel forever. It is to build something valuable enough that the next generation—or another capable owner—can take it further.

TBZ’s story began with a shop in Zaveri Bazaar and a promise customers could trust.

It passed through generations that changed the product, the organisation, the retail model and the capital structure.

Now, the family is changing one more thing: who owns it.

That may be the most mature lesson of all.

Build the brand. Build the institution. Build the next generation. And when the time comes, have the courage to let the business become bigger than the family that built it.

A question for founders

If you were not around tomorrow, would your business know who should lead, what they should lead and how the business should fund its next decade?

If the answer is unclear, your succession plan has already begun too late.

Sources

TBZ Annual Reports and investor disclosures; TBZ corporate history and investor information; National Stock Exchange filings; Economic Times; Moneycontrol; Hindustan Times; and reporting on the 2026 GRT Jewellers transaction.