Joyalukkas to expand outside south

Thrissur-based jeweller Joyalukkas, which has a strong presence in the south Indian market, has chalked out a plan to roll out 15 jewellery stores in Maharashtra and also expand its presence in Gujarat, Kolkata and Delhi in the next three years.

On average each year, the company plans to launch 10-11 stores across the country, said Joy Alukkas, its chairman and managing director. Currently, it has a thin presence in the north Indian markets with only seven stores from the total 45 stores in the country.

With the organised gold retail market at below 10 per cent, it expects good potential in metros and Tier II locations.

As part of its ongoing expansion in Andhra Pradesh, it would launch three gold retail stores in Khammam, Warangal and Kadapa this month, involving an investment of Rs 55-60 crore for each 1,000 sft store, and three such stores in Tirupati, Rajahmundry and Karimnagar by April.

"At any time, these stores would hold 100 kg of gold. With the metros in the south reaching near to saturation level, we hope to expand into Tier II locations in the country where the unorganised market is quite high and maintenance costs are on the lower side of the curve,” he said.

The company's revenues from India would touch Rs 4,600 crore in the current fiscal. This is lower than its targeted Rs 5,000 crore, primarily due to slowing consumer demand and government curbs on gold import, he said. In 2012-13, its revenues stood at Rs 3,500 crore.

Under its diversification strategy, it plans to roll out customised wedding collection malls under the banner'Mall of Joy'.  "We expect to launch the pilot 100,000 sft Mall of Joy in April in our hometown Thrissur,” said Alukkas.

Later, it would launch three such malls in Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, each with an investment of Rs 100 crore within the next two years, he added.