Joyalukkas group ventures into mall biz

Leading jewellery group Joyalukkas, which has diversified its operations into different sectors, is now venturing into the business of malls.

Branded ‘Mall of Joy', the new business entity will start operations in eight locations over the next 30 months and the first mall will be unveiled in Kozhikode in March.

Being established at a total outlay of around Rs 1,000 crore, the eight malls will have a combined floor area of more than two million sq ftApart from Kozhikode, the malls will come up at Thrissur, Kochi, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore.

The retail mix of ‘Mall of Joy' will feature two anchor stores, namely, jewellery and silks. The other outlets will include those for fashion and clothing, cosmetics, watches, footwear, opticals, beauty parlour, restaurants and food courts, apart from a children's play area. All the malls will also have ample parking area.

Mr Joy Alukkas, Chairman of the group, said here on Thursday that the malls would be fashioned by architects and interior designers of international repute and they would offer people the perfect fusion of the old and the new.

With a total business turnover of around Rs. 5,000 crore, Joyalukkas group has 85 retail jewellery outlets across nine countries. The other business interests of the group include textiles and accessories, money exchange and luxury aviation.

The turnover from Indian operations is estimated around Rs. 2,800 crore, with the balance accounted for by business outlets in the UK, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. The turnover in India is expected to go up to about Rs 3,600 crore by the end of the current year, while the group's total turnover is targeted to reach the Rs 6,000-crore mark.

The group plans to open 11 more showrooms before March next year, of which seven will be in India and the others in West Asia and Singapore. Alongside, the money exchange operation, which is now confined to the West Asian countries, is planned to be expanded to Indian cities.

The group, which has received clearance for its initial public issue, is waiting for the market to turn congenial. Though the initial plan was to raise Rs 700 crore through the issue, the size will now have to be revised to comply with the recent guidelines of Securities and Exchange Board of India that stipulate a minimum dilution of 25 per cent for public issues, according to Mr T. Nandakumar, Chief Financial Officer.

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