Malabar Gold and Diamonds' wins Retail ME award as the ‘Most Admired Retailer'

Brand maintains service quality and standards despite growing portfolio of products and expanded sales network across 103 stores in GCC and South Asia

Dubai : Malabar Gold and Diamonds, one of the world's largest jewellery retailer, has won the Retail ME awards for being the ‘Most Admired Retailer' under the gold and jewellery category.

The awards announcement came after weeks of deliberations by a select jury who collectively handed over unanimous verdict to Malabar Gold and Diamonds.

Organised by the RetailME – a monthly retail publication – the annual RetailME Awards recognises top performing retailers and best retail practices in the industry and rewards excellence across a range of retail categories.

It is the only private sector awards programme for the UAE's retail sector – one of the key contributor to the country's growing economy.

A jury comprising the most prominent names in the local, regional and international retail industry independently judged all the submissions. The results were audited by Crowe Horwath.

The award comes at an appropriate time as the company undergoes the next phase of expansion and development.

“This is a direct testimony of the quality services delivered by the team to our growing customer base,” MP Ahamed, Chairman of Malabar Group, said. “Maintaining strong customer service amid growth could be quite challenging sometimes. However, we have demonstrated that while growing our network.

“Malabar Gold and Diamonds, while expanding our product range as well as our retail network, has ensured that the quality does not suffer amid increased bulk sale across the company's network. The award is a direct reflection of it.”

The news comes weeks after the company announced that it expected its annual turnover to reach $3.5 billion (Dh12.8 billion, Rs220 billion) this year – the company's 20th anniversary – reinforcing its position among the top jewellery retailers in the world.

The company, which has a strong presence in the Gulf and India, also recently announced the opening of its 100th retail outlet – a rare feat – that elevates it's position among the world's top three gold and diamond jewellery retailers.

The opening of the company's 100th store is part of its three-year expansion and re-branding vision announced in March 2012, that will eventually raise the company's retail network to 220 outlets, with an investment outlay of more than Rs35 billion and create 16,000 jobs and triple its annual turnover to $6 billion (about Rs390 billion) and make it the world's largest jeweller in terms of annual turnover by 2015.

The company has recently launched a new mini-boutique concept – Pink Chic – that is expected to not only attract young and trendy consumers of today, but also expand its market share among the region's gold and diamond jewellery retailers.

The company, owned by 1,600 shareholders has recently appointed Bollywood heart throb Kareena Kapoor as its new brand ambassador to help reflect the company's image.

“With our ambitious expansion plan, we are fast changing the global ranking of the world's top jewellery retailers – in which we are constantly outranking global rivals – to rise to the top position in the near future,” Shamlal Ahamed, Managing Director of Malabar Gold and Diamonds, said.

“However, our biggest success lies in our ability to serve our clients in the best possible ways and the satisfaction of our customers and the trust they attach to our company that is reflected in the customer retention and loyalty that we have seen in the last few days.”

The company has recently announced a massive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme as part of its 20th anniversary celebration that will see the company re-inject 10 per cent of its annual profits to support social causes across its operational networks.

The company has also announced a policy of giving back to the community to help sustainable and inclusive growth with the community. Malabar Gold and Diamond's CSR vision has been built around a concrete and measurable programme based on certain matrices. Its CSR programme covers five basic needs of human life – education, housing, healthcare, women empowerment and environment.

The company, which excels in quality products and services, has more than 7,000 professionals on its payroll.

Established in 1993 in South Indian state of Kerala, Malabar Gold & Diamonds today has a strong retail network of 103 outlets spread across seven countries, 10 wholesale units in addition to offices, design centres and factories spread in India and the UAE.  With 7 cluster manufacturing units across India and GCC – the company currently has 6 jewellery brands to cater to the discerning needs of customers.