Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the 6th largest jewellery retailer globally with 312 showrooms across 10 countries, has signed Indian actress Alia Bhatt as their new brand ambassador. The announcement comes in the wake of the 30th anniversary of Malabar group, which began their operations in 1993. With an extensive retail network in India, UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA, the signing of Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador will bring a new global outlook to the brand as they set their eyes on new markets such as the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Egypt, Bangladesh, Turkey and New Zealand as well as major cities in all states of India strengthen their presence in existing markets.
M.P. Ahammed, Chairman, Malabar Group said, “We are very excited to welcome Alia Bhatt into the Malabar Family. Over the years, our brand ambassadors have played an instrumental role in elevating our brand’s status in the eyes of our customers and we are looking forward to taking Malabar Gold & Diamonds to new heights with Alia Bhatt as the face of the brand. Our goal is to be crowned as the World’s largest jewellery retailer by crafting, promoting and selling jewellery that is an intersection of Indian art, culture, tradition, heritage and Alia Bhatt, both as an actor and as a person, perfectly represents what we are striving to achieve. Her impressive career in the highly competitive film industry resonates with our brand’s journey and ambition as a brand. As Malabar Gold & Diamonds celebrates its 30thanniversary, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing our loyal customers with the best jewellery shopping experience”.
Alia Bhatt. said, “I am delighted to be the face of a global brand such as Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Having witnessed first-hand their acceptance amongst Indians and Indian sub-continental audience, the immense success they have reaped abroad should be a source of great pride for us and I am humbled to be a part of the Malabar family. As Malabar Gold & Diamonds gears up to execute their ambitious expansion plan, I earnestly look forward to working closely with them to further their reach amongst jewellery lovers world-over”.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds was established in 1993 and is the flagship company of Malabar Group, a leading diversified Indian business conglomerate with an annual turnover of Rs. 33,000 Cr (USD 4.1 Bn). The group, owned by more than 4,000 shareholders, has more than 17,500 professionals from over 26 countries. The group also operates MGD – Lifestyle Jewellery, a retail concept offering trendy and light weight jewellery that represents the independent and the modern woman through its designs and collections.
The size of the Indian jewellery market in India annually is expected to be Rs. 3.50 lakh Cr. The love for the yellow metal has only been growing, despite increase in retail gold prices. Despite the pandemic, lockdown, stress on the economy, reduced household earnings and most recently, the impact of the Ukraine war, Indians living in India as well as in the Middle East continue to buy gold jewellery, which is seen as one of the safest savings for the future.
A Crisil Ratings study of 76 gold jewellery retailers, which account for 33% of the organised sector, says retail sales volume will increase 16-18% on-year to 670-700 tonne this fiscal, crossing the pre-pandemic level of 600 tonne, supported largely by wedding and festival demand which accounts for 80-85% of gold jewellery sales. India led the global recovery in gold sales with 17% year on year growth with a demand of 146 tonnes in the third quarter of 2022, the strongest growth since 2018, the World Gold Council said recently while analysing the Q3 global sales in 2022, according to a report by Fortune magazine.