Kiah, the diamond retail arm of Rs 1,300 crore Mumbai-based Sheetal group, is planning to open 30 retail stores of ‘Kiah Diamond Jewellery’ by the end of 2009. The company will soon roll out its retail outlets in Ludhiana and Amritsar as well, and are looking for suitable locations in Chandigarh and Jalandhar.
Gautam Gulati, chief operating officer (COO) of Kiah Diamond Jewellery, while interacting with Business Standard revealed that at present, the company has 15 retail outlets with stores in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.
The company has overseas presence also, with one retail outlet based in Dubai. Gulati maintained that all the 15 retail outlets are Company-Owned-Company-Operated (COCO) stores. He said after opening 30 stores by next year end, the company may go for franchise options as well, to scale up their expansion.
Commenting on the jewellery market in India, Gulati revealed that the jewellery market in India is worth Rs 6,500 crore, while the diamond market is worth Rs 1,000-1,200 crore.