Kalyan Jewellers earmarks Rs 300 crore for expansion in South

: Thrissur-based jewellery retailer Kalyan Jewellers has earmarked Rs 300 crore for expansion in five States, according to a top official of the store.

The expansion was in line with the company's plan to have 250 showrooms in five years. Kalyan Jewellers currently has 137 showrooms across the country and West Asia.

According to Kalyan Jewellers chairman and managing director TS Kalyanaraman, the company plans to open eight showrooms across the southern market -- two showrooms each in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and one each in Kerala and Telangana.

"In the past year, our focus was to expand operations in non-South geographies and we forayed into 10 new markets. We entered Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and added showrooms in Maharashtra, New Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh," he said in a statement.

He said this year with consolidation in South as a key focus, there was immense potential in growing number of metros and mini-metros. "We typically allot anywhere between Rs 30-45 crore for a showroom..", he said.

The jewellery retailer also has further expansion plans in Maharashtra and West Bengal, and foray into Punjab and Rajasthan.