Did you know that the India jewellery group, Malabar Gold and Diamonds, on 7 May 2023 opened one of the world's largest jewelry showroom at 110,000sq ft., and on 12 January 2018, it also set a new record when it opened 11 outlets in a single day across the globe?

Malabar Gold and Diamonds, founded by M.P. Ahammed in 1993, is headquartered in Kozhikode, Kerala, India. As of May 2023, it owns more than 325 showrooms across 11 countries, making it one of the largest chains of jewellery retailer in the world. The company also owns a network of luxury watch boutiques across India, which operates under the name Malabar Watches. The company is known for providing a jewellery shopping experience with convenience and customer-friendly policies, known as the Malabar Promise that assures customers, transparency, and service assurance.

Since 2000, the company has been on an expansion and was reported to be a group worth ₹500 crore in 2005. The company claims that they are the first brand to offer only 100% BIS hallmark gold. Though the company is mainly committed to India, they are also present across the Gulf and Far East markets. In 2012, the company had a turnover of ₹12,000 crore and by the end of 2013, it posted a turnover of ₹22,000 crore. By 2017, the group had opened 27 stores across nations.

On 12 January 2018, the company opened 11 outlets in a single day across the globe setting a new record. The number of outlets reached 208 with this launch. Out of the 11 outlets opened, 8 were located in the Gulf region. The new showrooms were established in AL-Hazana Lulu, Al-Khail Mall, Al- Buhaira Lulu, Ajman City Centre and Sahara Centre in the UAE; Lagoona Mall and Mall of Qatar in Qatar; AMK Hub in Singapore; Muscat City Centre in Oman; Warrangal in Telangana, and in Ampang Mall in Malaysia.

By 2018, the company had 215 stores across nine countries with the highest number of stores in India. The Indian market also accounts for about a third of the company’s revenue. The same year, Malabar Gold and Diamonds opened their first showroom in the U.S market. This outlet in Chicago which was also the group’s 250th outlet was inaugurated by Neeta Bhushan, Counsel General of India. Later, the company legally converted its UAE operations covering Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman into 100% ownership.

In January 2023, the company launched its 300th global showroom in Dallas, Texas, United States. With the opening of this showroom, Malabar Gold and Diamonds became the 6th largest jewellery retailer in the world. In May 2023, they launched the biggest jewellery showroom in the world, spanning at an area of 110000 sq ft at Kozhikode. 

The new Malabar store, which opened on Sunday (7 May) offers customers "a totally different experience to the customers, providing them information on design development and manufacturing," the company said.

As the world's biggest jewellery showroom, it has five floors for shopping and three for parking. The showroom also offers a differentiated shopping experience and innovative bouquet of services to customers and has a dedicated wedding arena exclusively for the selection of ornaments for the brides. A bespoke suit will also enable the customers to customise their choices; a privilege lounge with personalised services is another feature of the showroom run by a set of specially trained staff.

The store has a set of experts who brief customers on the sourcing, value and features of different gemstones. The experience zone, set up as part of the showroom, offers an immersive experience to the customers on the gold and diamond manufacturing process. More than being a sales point, it has been conceived to be a jewellery tourist destination where the customer gets to know the depth, diversity and styles of traditional ornament making and jewellery craft. There is a special pavilion to showcase the precious and age-old diamonds, jewelleries and antiques collected from across the world.

Malabar Group Chairman M.P. Ahammed termed the completion of 30 years of Malabar Gold and Jewellery as a momentous occasion in their journey which was made possible only because of the trust and affection of the customers. He said, “Their continued support and trust took us where we stand now as one of the biggest jewellery groups in the world. We are especially happy to set up this store at the same place where we started our humble journey. This is a significant step towards our journey to emerge as the biggest jewellery retailer in the world,” he said, and disclosed that similar Artistry Stores are already operating in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Delhi, while work is in progress to set up 20 more such stores in other prominent cities in the country.

The Malabar Gold and Diamonds world's largest jewelry showroom at 110,000sq ft is however rivaled by Tiffany and Co's flagship Fifth Avenue 10-floor store re-opened in New York after a major refurbishment that remarkably covers an area of 110,000sq ft. Meanwhile Gems Gallery, in Pattaya, Thailand, claims it is the largest jewelry store in the world, at 163,611sq ft, although that includes a manufacturing unit. 

In June 2023, Malabar Gold and Diamonds expanded their operations into Europe by opening a showroom in London. This was also the 320th showroom of the company. The Group at present has showrooms in India, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United States. The Group plan to expand its footprint to more countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa in the coming years.

Source: The Economic Times, IDEX Online

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