Indian retailer Kalyan Jewellers is planning an IPO to raise capital for expansion internationally.
The company has plans for six stores in Qatar and an undisclosed number in Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
Chairman and MD T S Kalyanaraman has not revealed the timeframe for the IPO, but the move comes a year after high-profile private equity investor Warburg Pincus took a cornerstone stake in the business, effectively giving it an international scale credibility.
Kalyan has 85 premium stores across India and in the Middle East and has a further 15 in planning. More significant is its second tier of concessions and ‘service centre’ stores branded ‘My Kalyan’ – a network currently numbering 650, with another 350 planned by March next year.
“We had opened two [Kalyan] stores in Chennai – at Chromepet and Adayar – a couple of days ago,” said Kalyanaraman.
“Going at this pace, we will be touching the 100-store mark towards the end of financial year 2016,” he said.
Kalyanaraman sees huge potential in the ‘affordable diamond’ segment of the market, which it plans to service through the My Kalyan network.
