Kalyan Jewellers eyes Rs 200 cr turnover from Odisha

Kalyan Jewellers, one of the leading players in the organised jewellery market, is aiming at a turnover of Rs 200 crore from its operations in Odisha in the current fiscal.

The jeweller would open its maiden store in the city, also its first in eastern India, on June 5.

"We have invested Rs 60 crore on our Bhubaneswar outlet and we are eyeing a turnover of Rs 200 crore. This would be the biggest jewellery showroom in the city spread over 15,000 sq ft," said T S Kalyanaraman, chairman cum managing director of Kalyan Jewellers.

The Bhubaneswar showroom is slated to be inaugurated by celluloid icons and brand ambassadors of Kalyan Jewellers-Amitabh Bachchan and Nagarjuna Akkineni.

To consolidate its presence in the east, the Kerala-based jeweller is looking to open three jewellery showrooms in Kolkata during this fiscal. Apart from South India, where it has a formidable presence, Kalyan Jewellers has a sizeable footprint in Maharashtra, Gujarat, National Capital Region (NCR) and Punjab.

Kalyan Jewellers plans to open 18 more outlets in 2015-16, taking its showroom network to 100. Of the 18 outlets, 10 will be opened in the country and eight in West Asia. Six stores will be launched in Qatar towards the middle of 2015 while one showroom will be opened each in Bahrain and UAE. Kalyan Jewellers already has 12 exclusive outlets in West Asia- nine in the UAE and three in Kuwait.

The jewellery maker has lined up Rs 1,800 crore expansion plan to expand into new cities in the country and globally by 2016-17. In the next fiscal, it plans to establish its footprint in Malaysia and Singapore. It is also expanding its production facility and plans to have the country's biggest production house by 2017. Presently, it has three manufacturing facilities across Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is also investing in a design and production facility at the Sharjah Free Zone with an initial capacity to handle 5-8 kg of gold jewellery processing per day. Last year, Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers had divested a small stake for Rs 1,200 crore to US-based global private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The proceeds will be used to fund the Rs 1,800 crore expansion plan. The balance Rs 600 crore would come from internal accruals and debt.

Kalyan Jewellers closed 2014-15 with a total revenue of Rs 10,000 crore. In 2015-16, it has targeted a topline growth of 30 per cent to reach a turnover of Rs 13,000 crore. It expects to attain revenue of Rs 25,000 crore in the next three years.

Amitabh Bachchan may face protest

Kalinga Sena, a local political outfit, today announced its decision to oppose the proposed visit of Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan to Odisha scheduled on June 5 in the wake of the Maggi controversy. "The activists of Kalinga Sena would stage demonstration against Bachchan from the airport to his proposed meeting venue in the city," Kalinga Sena chief Hemant Rath told reporters here.

Demanding an apology from the mega star for his advertisement to promote Maggi noodles in the country, Rath said, "we'll not allow Bachchan to promote any product in Odisha. He is coming to Odisha for inaugurating a jewellery showroom." Bachchan will be accompanied by Telugu superstar Nagarjuna during his visit. Kalinga Sena came to the limelight when one of its activists slapped the then Indian cricket team coach Greg Chappell on January 22, 2007, protesting against non-inclusion of Odisha players in the Indian team in 2007. June 5 would be the second visit of Bachchan to Odisha. Earlier he had come to the state on March 21, 2010, to inaugurate 'Brindaban Gurukul', a music research centre set up by flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia.