Malabar Gold and Diamonds is planning to establish a diamond jewellery manufacturing centre in Mumbai.

“It is still in a nascent stage, but with the good growth prospects that we are seeing in the diamond jewellery space, we intend to have our own manufacturing facility. It is expected to become operational next fiscal,” Asher O, Managing Director (India Operations), Malabar Gold & Diamonds, said.

The company has at present tied up with a diamond manufacturer in Mumbai for sourcing its requirement. “When our own manufacturing centre becomes operational, we will be able to offer exclusive stuff,” he added.

According to Asher, stone studded jewellery accounted for 10 per cent of the jewellery retail chain’s total turnover of Rs 26,000 crore; the jewellery major plans to double this to 20 per cent very soon.

The Kerala-headquartered company entered the Tamil Nadu market in 2006 by opening its first store at Erode. It now has a network of 9 outlets in TN and 137 showrooms across 9 countries. This is expected to touch 157 by the end of the current fiscal. Nearly 50 per cent of the showrooms are located in India. “We are aggressively expanding our presence in the Far East and Middle East countries,” he said.

In line with this expansion, the company is gearing up to strengthen its manufacturing facilities. “We are coming up with greenfield units at Ahmedabad and Kolkata and expanding our facility in Coimbatore and Mumbai. We have invested around Rs 800 crore during the current fiscal on enhancing our retail presence and in manufacturing units.

Asked how the Gold Monetisation Scheme would impact retail jewellery business, he said “we don’t foresee adverse impact. Gold imports would come down; the Indian consumer will continue to invest in jewellery rather than on gold bars and coins

Asher was in the city at the inauguration of its showroom here. The investment on this is estimated at Rs 50 crore.

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