Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers (VBJ) will open four showrooms in the U.S. and eight in T.N. within a span of two-four years, investing ₹1,800 crore, Managing Partner, Amarendran Vummidi said.
“We are a 123-old firm having two showrooms in Chennai city, Mr. Vummidi said. “For the first time, we are venturing into the U.S. by opening the maiden showroom in Dallas, Texas on October 19,” he said in an interaction.
Spread over 7,000 sq.ft, it would be the flagship store of VBJ in the U.S. The investment in the company-owned showroom is ₹150 crore. It would retail all the company-made gold, silver, platinum and diamond jewellery.
According to him, VBJ had decided to set up the showroom two years ago. But, it had to be deferred due to a 60% rise in the cost of real estate in the last 18 months.
Three other showrooms will come up in Chicago, Virginia and California in two to three years at an investment of ₹450 crore.
Explaining the rationale for choosing Dallas, he said that it was for two reasons. It had a huge Indian-American population with a highly-disposable income.
“South Indian festivals such as Diwali are held on three occasions and we want to cash in on that. We are targeting young IT professionals and business owners. The pricing of the jewellery will be similar to India. And, there will be no wastage charges,” he added.
VBJ will be opening four more showrooms in Chennai in two-three years and one each in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi and Salem in three-four years costing totally ₹1,200 crore.
In FY23, VBJ posted a turnover of ₹1,800 crore and hopes to end FY24 with a revenue of ₹1,950 crore.
Asked about the funding, he said it would be met through internal accruals and bank borrowings.
Published - October 10, 2023 08:07 pm IST
