Malabar Gold plans overseas expansion.

Malabar Gold and Diamonds, one of the largest jewellery retail chains in the country, now plans to focus more on overseas expansion. The retailer has 111 stores, out of which 74 are in India. Of the remaining, 36 are in West Asian countries and one in Singapore.

'We plan to open one more store in Singapore in the next couple of weeks, and then in Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka,' said Amjad Hussain, Corporate Marketing Head, Malabar Gold and Diamonds.

Besides, it would also expand its footprint in West Asian countries. Two stores in the UAE and Oman have been signed and will be launched soon, he said.

Malabar Gold had plans to double its outlets in India, but would go slow on India expansion for the time being. 'As there are a lot of restrictions on gold import now, it would not make sense for us to open stores at a pace we would have done otherwise,' Hussain said. However, it will have three new stores in Ahmedabad, Nasik and Bangalore in the next few months. Without giving out any numbers, Hussain said India accounts for 60 per cent of the retailer’s global turnover.

HBL