Kalyan boosts strategic presence in TN

Kalyan Jewellers today has 102 showrooms across India and the Middle East. Having embarked on an aggressive expansion drive, the brand has earmarked Rs 900 crore this financial year to expand its distribution network in India and globally. Talking about one of their most important markets, TS Kalyanaraman, Chairman & Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers, says, “Tamil Nadu is the No 1 contributing state for Kalyan Jewellers in terms of revenue, outside of Kerala. We have invested approximately Rs 750 crore in our operations here in Tamil Nadu as of date. In Chennai, our investment has been close to Rs 430 crore. We had three stores in Chennai, including the flagship store that we opened last April. And now we have opened two more showrooms in Anna Nagar and Velachery, for which we made an investment of 150 crore. 

Chennai is one of the biggest markets for jewellery in India, which is why we wanted to strengthen our geographical presence in this region.” Kalyanaraman remarks that there are quite a few new challenges faced by jewellers in today’s economic climate. He explains, “Because of the new regulations concerning the sale of jewellery, which requires a customer to disclose one’s PAN card details (for purchases exceeding Rs 2 lakh), we often encounter buyers who are either unaware of the rule or do not possess a PAN card (say a farmer, for instance). Some people actually thought it was a company-specific rule and not a government rule. We do lose some revenue in the process, but we will have to bear with that for the next three or four years. Hopefully by that time, most customers would be aware of this law and get used to the practice.” 

Keeping the changing needs of the youth in mind, the brand has launched several sub-brands every year. “This year we launched the Mudhra collection, which is antique jewellery. There’s also the Apoorva collection, which is diamond jewellery for special occasions. Anokhi is a range comprising of uncut jewellery and there’s also the Dancing Diamonds, a new offering from our brand,” says Kalyanaraman. Setting its sights on the online market, the brand has lined up many initiatives for the future. Kalyanaraman tells us, “We had tied up with Flipkart a few months ago and we now sell a few products through their portal. 

We are launching our own portal this month, in the first phase. In Phase 2, we are looking at a bigger portal, and that will be launched six months after this Diwali season.” He adds, “As we have showrooms across the nation, each store in these states has jewellery and designs that are typical of that region. Say, if a customer comes to our Coimbatore showroom, she can view the products in our Chennai showroom and ask the showroom to place an order by paying a token advance. The customer can also place an online order for products from any showroom and have it delivered to them. These are the plans for the Phase 2 portal expansion.” Expansion plans are also the anvil - the company is looking at adding 20 more showrooms to its list this year. Out of these, they opened six in the first quarter. The second quarter will see four more showrooms (including the recent two in Chennai). Two showrooms are coming up in the UAE, two in the Middle-East. The rest of the showrooms are coming up in the third and fourth quarters of this year. The company’s current revenues are close to Rs 10,000 crore a year and they are targeting a revenue of Rs 13,000 crore this year.