Kalyan Jewellers to invest 1,400 cr to open showrooms

Thrissur: Kalyan Jewellers, India's leading directly owned jewellery chain, proposes to invest Rs 1,400 crore this fiscal to set up 28 showrooms across India and Gulf countries and would aggressively focus on affordable diamonds. At present, Kalyan Jewellers has 55 showrooms in India and will open 17 new ones with an investment of Rs 900 crore in the country and 11 in Gulf countries by investing Rs 500 crore, T S Kalyanaraman, CMD, told reporters here.

Of the new showrooms planned in India, five would be in Kerala in Tier II and III towns, including Attingal, Angamally and Adoor; three in Kolkatta, two more in Mumbai and Bangalore, among others. In the Gulf, showrooms are planned at Qatar, Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, he said.

The brand, which presently has six showrooms in the Gulf, will have 17 showrooms once the 11 more are opened, he said.

The six showrooms opened three months ago were doing good business and the turnover, so far, had crossed Rs 300 crore, he said. Aiming to promote the concept of affordable diamonds, Kalyan Jewellers will convert its 'My Kalyan' customer service centres in Kerala, numbering 159 in Kerala, 145 in Tamil Nadu and 50 in Karnataka to mini diamond stores, Kalyanaraman said. The jewellery chain plans to have 1,000 'My Kalyan' centres by the 2016 fiscal end.