Malabar Gold & Diamonds announces $91.28m expansion plans

Dubai : Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one of the world’s largest gold and diamond jewellery retailer, has announced a major investment amounting Dh 335 million (US$91.28m) in expansion plans of its retail network. The plan will see an addition of 24 stores in three months, from January 2017 to March 2017 period, taking the number of total outlets to 185 by the end of March 2017, up from 161 as of today.

Out of the 24 new outlets, 9 will be in the UAE, 7 in India, 5 in Saudi Arabia, 2 in Bahrain and 1 in Kuwait. Of these, 7 outlets will be opened today, taking the number of total outlets to 168, including 82 in India and 86 internationally.

The expansion will add more than 1,000 professionals to the group’s existing manpower strength of 9,000 and cross the 10,000 employee mark by March this year.

“This is one of our single largest vertical expansion drives,”  MP Ahammed, Chairman of Malabar Group, said. “Investment in downturn market requires courage and strong risk appetite.” 

The price of gold has risen in almost every major world economy during 2016, suggesting that the dark days are over and good times are coming back. The gold price is almost 10 per cent higher today than what it had been 12 months ago.

Abdul Salam KP, Group Executive Director of Malabar Group said that consumers were cautious last year. “However things are looking brighter as we started the New Year with a lot of positive indications,” he added.

Shamlal Ahamed MP, Managing Director – International Operations of Malabar Gold & Diamonds’ says, “I believe the current market conditions are best suited for buyers as the price of gold is expected to rise. This year, we expect consumers to be less cautious and buy more – a trend that will lift consumption”, he added.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds is the flagship company of Malabar Group, a leading diversified Indian business conglomerate.