Joy Alukkas, Chairman and MD of Joyalukkas Group set up his first shop in Abu Dhabi in 1987, which grew into a jewellery retail chain and continued expansion to countries like India, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The flagship brand ‘Joyalukkas Jewellery’, goes with the tagline “World's favourite jeweller”, and was the first jewellery retailer to be awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 certification.
Today, the Joyalukkas Group is involved in various businesses other than jewellery, which includes Money Exchange Centres, Luxury Aviation, Malls, Fashion & Silks and Realty. And, in a span of just two decades, the Group has grown into a multi-billion global conglomerate.
The Group is actively involved in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities across various states in India.
In an interview with Rough & Polished, Joy Alukkas speaks about his dreams and plans for the future of Joyalukkas Group.
Please give us an overview of your Group Joyalukkas (JA); its growth graph over the years; and its present standing as a major global Jewellery Chain.
I ventured into the jewellery business with a single showroom in the UAE in the year 1987 and today ‘Joyalukkas’ is a group of companies with diversified business interests. Our presence is spread across 11 countries and our business interests include Jewellery, Fashion & Silks, Malls, Luxury Air Charter, and Money Exchange & Malls. In jewellery retailing brand ‘Joyalukkas’ is a one of the largest and most recognised retail chain with a customer base of over 10 million people world-wide.
Where does JA stand in the already crowded Indian domestic market; how many stores does JA have now? Plans for the future?
Considering the fact that we only ventured into India about 10 years ago, I feel we have done incredibly well and have been well accepted in the Indian market. We are one of the fastest growing jewellery retail chains in India and probably the first organised retailer to spread nationwide get accepted by customers, who till recently preferred to shop for jewellery only at their local family store. We are currently a 51-showroom chain in India and have made plans for opening 20 new showrooms this financial year across various parts of the country. We have been well accepted in the Indian market since I firmly believe we offer the best experience in jewellery shopping.
And your presence in the Middle East, how many JA stores are there right now and what are the plans to grow in that front?
We are a 41-showroom jewellery chain in the Middle-East and we have plans to open 10 new showrooms in the Middle-East this financial year. My journey in the jewellery business started in the Middle-East and this background and experience has helped us to be one of the best jewellery retail chains in the world.
Besides London, are you looking at other locations to spread your wings? If so, how do you justify entering the markets, given the economic downturn in Europe and other countries?
We are currently working on our expansion plan into the US and are also evaluating some others countries to venture into. Jewellery has been traditionally recession proof thanks predominantly to the stature of gold among Asians. And this tradition and cultural significance gets passed on from one generation to another. I believe the demand for jewellery will continue to grow in the coming years.
Over the years, what transformations have you seen in jewellery demand - in terms of diamond , gold content, design, etc. - in the International markets? What is the trend at present, say in Europe where you have a presence?
One of the most visible transformations has been the consumer acceptance of diamond jewellery and the ratio of demand between gold and diamond seems to be slowly and steadily reducing. Other transformations and trends include Polki, Precious Stone and Pearl Jewellery - this would be the change we are seeing in terms of consumer choice of precious jewellery. Other than this, the transformation we are seeing is in terms of choice and designs. At Joyalukkas, consumers can pick from a choice of over million jewellery designs and this proves there is a huge leap in terms of design and innovation of product. The trend in Europe is mostly around diamond and 18K jewellery, since these are the forms of jewellery the European consumer prefer.
Your take on the two of your Group’s main markets where it has its presence - Dubai and Indian domestic jewellery sector - its growth over the past decade.
We have been growing at an average of 20% every year across all markets we have presence in, and this would be the case for our Dubai and Indian operations as well. About 20% growth is the least we expect now and we have now started considering this growth rate as the minimum we are ready to settle for.
What changes have you seen in the Middle East markets with regards to demand pattern since you began your business? Has diamond jewellery demand increased in recent years? Your comments on the future of the markets, and its growth.
As I said earlier, we are seeing a slow and steady rise in demand for diamond jewellery. In fact, during some of the peak buying seasons we see that the sales of both the types of jewellery is even. I see this trend to continue for a minimum of 5 years more and overall I see our Industry growing in the range of 20-30% every year.
Having started your business in the Indian domestic market, your views on its growth over the years, changes in demand related to style, design, gold, and diamond and coloured stone jewellery. With regards to diamond especially, what is the demand/trend in quality/size of diamonds in jewellery in today’s domestic market?
We are one of the first jewellers to showcase international designs of jewellery in India, thanks to our experience and operations in the Middle-East. ‘Diamond’ jewellery will see strong growth because this in this type of jewellery we are now showcasing some breath-taking designs.
Do you foresee a future where less caratage gold jewellery will be accepted in the Indian market, given the high price of gold?
Less caratage jewellery would probably start being accepted as a daily wear since many of the Indian working women prefer to wear lost cost and minimalistic jewellery as everyday wear.
What are JA Group’s initiatives in the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ endeavours?
Serving humanity is a sublime mission like no other. The Joyalukkas Group regularly contributes to the overall welfare of the world around. We have a dedicated CSR team under the leadership of my wife Jolly Joy Alukkas who evaluates various requests for assistance and takes decision to offer monetary or any other form of assistance. From building homes for the needy to assisting hospitals or donating blood, we are the first to step-up whenever a genuine need arises for various hospitals and blood banks.
Joyalukkas makes huge contributions on a monthly basis to help the needy and grants generous amounts for various health-related and relief programmes. The group has conducted a number of medical camps on a mission to bring quality healthcare to the poor. Financial assistance is also provided to the economically backward sections to meet the costs of expensive treatments such as that of cancer. Joyalukkas also conducts blood donation camps on a monthly basis where both the employees of the Group and general public participate actively.
We have also launched a programme named Joyalukkas Think Pink to spread awareness on breast cancer. It not only educates the public on various matters related to breast cancer, but also serves as a big relief to a number of underprivileged breast cancer patients, who find it difficult to treat it due to its exorbitant costs.
Is JA planning looking at manufacturing jewellery in the future? Do we expect JA’s IPO in India soon? And what are the plans post the IPO?
We are exploring all the above options and we will do whatever is best required for the growth and better future of the Joyalukkas Group. You will be one of the first to know once we finalise our plans.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Indian Bureau, Rough&Polished
