Jewellery retailer Malabar Gold is setting up manufacturing units in Coimbatore and Kozhikode.
“They will be small units employing around 300 people. We will have these units operating in a year or so,” said Abdul Salam K.P., Group Executive Director.
The Kerala-based retailer already has three manufacturing units in Kerala (Kozhikode and Thrissur) and one in Sharjah. They make basic products. Specialised products and handcrafted jewellery are sourced from goldsmiths and vendors from Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kerala and Coimbatore.
“Own units contribute 15 per cent of our total requirements. We would like to raise it to 50 per cent by 2015. More than that it is not viable and does not provide design variety,” said Salam.
Land has already been finalised in Coimbatore. A unit is also set to come up in Kozhikode, said Salam.
“After these two units, we will also explore own manufacturing opportunities in Kolkata, Mumbai and the North,” said Salam, on the sidelines of a press conference to announce actor Suriya as its brand ambassador.
Malabar Gold, which recently underwent a brand overhaul, has a slew of brand ambassadors – actors Hemamalini, Mohanlal and Puneet Rajkumar and music composer Ilayaraja. On whether this would create a clutter in the consumers’ minds, Salam said this helps in reaching out to a cross-section of people.
Malabar Gold has positioned itself as a mass market brand. It has 70 stores across India (45) and the GCC region. In India, the brand is present in South India and Delhi. Stores will come up in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Punjab and Haryana soon.
The retailer also plans to go to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia this year. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the US, UK and Canada are on the cards later, said Salam.
Malabar Gold’s retail turnover is $2.3 billion.