Malabar Gold & Diamonds in expansion drive

Bengaluru: Malabar Gold & Diamonds on Tuesday said the jewellery retailer will open 22 new showrooms in India and abroad in January 2022 at an estimated investment of Rs800 crore in its bid to cash in from the emerging demand for the yellow metal.

Speaking to the media, MP Ahammed, Group Chairman of Malabar Group, said that "this is one of the biggest such investments by any jewellery group where in 22 stores will be opened in 22 days of January of this year."

While 10 stores will be opened across eight States of India, the rest 12 stores will be opened in foreign countries such as Malaysia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai and Oman.

"This expansion will create about 5,000 job opportunities in the retail, manufacturing, technical and management areas related to jewellery trade. This will also give boost to the Make in India movement wherein 'make in India and market in the world' objective will be fulfilled," said Ahammed.

This massive expansion drive in January will begin with the launch of an Artistry concept store in Bengaluru spanning over 22,000 sq ft of area.

With an eye of becoming the largest jewellery group in the world, Malabar Gold and Diamonds is targeting to open 750 stores and become the number one gold retailer in the world. Current expansion drive is part of this strategic plan.

Abdul Salam KP, vice-chairman, Malabar Group, said: "We are excited about our future growth. We see a polarisation happening in the industry with customers increasingly preferring to buy from organised players. So, while we are opening large-format stores in metro cities; on the other hand, we continue to focus on optimal store sizes internationally and in smaller cities across India. We are confident that this two-pronged strategy will yield positive results."

The gold jewellery retailer is also innovating on its products and designs to attract more youngsters into its fold. The recent decision of the government, making it mandatory for the jewellers to sell BIS hallmark gold products is likely to support its future growth.

"Our retail expansion is a part of our strategy to further strengthen our retail footprint in the territories where we have strong presence as well as foray into new markets with our differentiated services and product offerings. Having seen in our research that both rural and urban markets are rapidly emerging in terms of potential, we are all geared up to set new standards of customer comfort and convenience in these new markets," said O Asher, managing director, India Operations of Malabar Gold and Diamonds.