Malabar Gold and Diamonds will open 11 new showrooms on January 12, including eight in the Gulf, as part of an expansion across six countries, the company announced on Wednesday.
Of the new showrooms, five will be located in the UAE, in Dubai’s Al Khail and Sahara Centre malls, Sharjah’s Al Haza Lulu and Al Buhaira Lulu and Ajman City Centre. Another will be opened in Muscat City Centre in Oman, with showrooms also slated to open in Singapore, Malaysia, and India and Qatar.
The openings will take the number of Malabar showrooms to 208, spread across nine countries. A total of 50 are expected to open in 2018.
“The opening of 11 showrooms in a single day across six countries reflects our strong conviction and confidence in the overall growth of the gold and diamond sector, despite challenging circumstances in certain markets,” Malabar Group chairman MP Ahammed told local media at a Dubai press conference.
“This is also one of the reasons we are expanding our global presence.”
Abdul Salam KP, the group executive director of Malabar Group, noted that “despite the bull-run of cryptocurrency, introduction of GST (goods and services tax) in India and VAT in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, we believe that the gold and diamond trade will sustain growth in the long run and will remain as the best commodity for investment and as a saving instrument in addition to being used as jewellery.”
Salam added that the company believes that the market will record “stronger growth” as consumers become accustomed to new tax regimes and adjust their budgets.
Malabar is ranked in the top five jewellery brands globally, and expects to increase annual sales to $5 billion in 2018, a 10 to 12 percent increase from the $4.5 billion recorded in 2017.
According to Ahammed, the company also is also preparing to go public, and this year will launch operations in the United States, Sri Lanka, Brunei and Bangladesh.
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