Kalyan Jewellers eyes network of over 200 showrooms in next three years

Expansion plan boosted on the back of additional investment of Rs. 500 crore from Warburg Pincus
Thrissur, April 3, 2017: Kalyan Jewellers (“the Company”), India’s largest and most trusted jewellery brand announced today that an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, is investing Rs 500 crores taking the total investment to Rs.1,700 crore in the Company.

The second round of investment comes at a time when the Company is looking to grow its distribution network exponentially in India and expand its overseas operations. In the next three years, Kalyan Jewellers will build its presence in the central region of the country including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and add new showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi and the Southern region. Kalyan is also looking to expand international operations by entering into new markets such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Singapore and Malaysia. The Company will also bolster its presence in the UAE where it already has 13 showrooms.

In 2014, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus invested Rs. 1,200 crore in Kalyan Jewellers marking the highest investment in the jewellery sector in the country. Over the past three years, Kalyan has nearly doubled its retail presence in India and West Asia to 106 showrooms including 23 in West Asia. The Company has opened showrooms in markets such as West Bengal, Orissa and Rajasthan while shoring up its presence in the Western and Northern regions of the country. Globally, the Company entered new markets including Qatar and Kuwait with multiple showrooms.

Commenting on the development, T.S. Kalyanaraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Jewellers said, “The investment by Warburg Pincus is a vindication of the strong growth trajectory of the Company. The Company plans to nearly double its presence to 200 plus showrooms using a combination of equity, debt and internal accruals. We will continue with our strategy to innovate and expand our product portfolio to fulfill local customer preferences across regions. Kalyan is also working on a blueprint for a foray into the ecommerce segment which will complement our physical retail network. We believe that the curb in cash transactions will see a shift from the unorganized sector to organized players like Kalyan. The rationalization of taxes under the GST regime will increase operational efficiencies significantly.’’

Kalyan Jewellers has emerged as the largest branded jewellery player in India by revenue. Kalyan has initiated the process of converting its 630 ‘My Kalyan’ customer service outlets into mini diamond stores to tap into the growing demand for diamond jewellery.

Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus India Pvt Ltd said, “We see a tremendous opportunity for Kalyan Jewellers to build a strong branded design-led jewellery business. Warburg Pincus’ additional investment will be used to accelerate the Company’s growth efforts in network expansion and pursuing acquisition opportunities. We continue to be impressed with the founders who have a well defined vision for the Company and look forward to working with them to realise the full potential of Kalyan Jewellers."