SLIDE 1 — TITLE

From Regional Giant to National Leader

Strategic Expansion of Malabar Gold & Diamonds

Subtitle: Strategic Management Case (2019–2025)
Group details

SLIDE 2 — STRATEGIC QUESTION

Core Strategic Question

How should Malabar Gold & Diamonds expand nationally to become India’s No.1 jewellery brand without eroding margins, operational control, and brand consistency?

Why this matters

• Thin-margin industry (~3–4% EBITDA)

• Highly fragmented but rapidly organizing market

• National scale is necessary for long-term leadership

SLIDE 3 — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our Key Takeaways

• India’s jewellery market is structurally shifting toward organized, national players

• Malabar’s 2019 hyper-local, LLP-led model was strong but not fully scalable without strategic refinement

• A region-prioritized, volume-led, hybrid expansion strategy is the optimal path — and this is exactly what Malabar executed post-2019

SLIDE 4 — MALABAR AT A GLANCE

Company Overview

• Founded: 1993, Kerala

• Business: Gold, diamond, studded jewellery

• Core promise: Purity, transparency, value

Growth Snapshot

• 2019 Revenue: ~$1.94B (₹12,000+ Cr)

• India Stores (2019): 117

• Strong presence in South India + GCC markets

Key Insight

Malabar entered 2019 as a strong regional champion, not yet a pan-India leader.

SLIDE 5 — 2019 EXPANSION STRATEGY (BASELINE)

How Malabar Was Expanding in 2019

• Hyper-localization of designs by region

• Decentralized procurement and sourcing

• LLP / Local HNI investor model for capital-light growth

Strategic Strength

• Rapid rollout with limited balance-sheet stress

• High local trust and community integration

Strategic Limitation

Governance complexity and operational strain increase sharply at national scale

SLIDE 6 — JEWELLERY MARKET: DEMAND DRIVERS

Why the Market Was Attractive

• Weddings account for 60–70% of demand

• Gold = investment hedge (~75% of jewellery demand)

• Rising income levels & urbanization

• Younger population entering consumption phase

Structural Tailwind

Organized retail gaining share due to GST, hallmarking, and trust deficit in unorganized sector

SLIDE 7 — EMERGING TRENDS (POST-2019 RELEVANCE)

Key Industry Shifts

• Rapid growth of organized national brands

• Higher preference for transparency & buyback guarantees

• Omnichannel discovery (online research → offline purchase)

• Shift toward branded, experience-led stores

Implication

Scale + trust infrastructure became more important than legacy or regional dominance

SLIDE 8 — COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Major Indian Players

• Tanishq (Titan) – premium, trust-led, controlled expansion

• Kalyan Jewellers – aggressive marketing, mass positioning

• Malabar – operational efficiency, gold volume play

• Large base of local jewellers (relationship-driven)

Market Reality

Top 5 players still <15% share → massive white space for scale players

SLIDE 9 — MALABAR VS COMPETITION

Malabar’s Strategic Position

Advantages

• Strong sourcing & backend operations

• GCC cash flows supporting India expansion

• LLP model enabling rapid rollout

• High inventory turnover (plain gold)

Disadvantages

• Weaker emotional brand pull vs Tanishq

• High coordination complexity

• Inventory fragmentation risk

• HQ distance from North India markets

SLIDE 10 — THE KEY STRATEGIC DILEMMA

The Core Trade-off

Scale Nationally vs Manage Local Complexity

Strategic Imperative

• Capture high-growth North & West markets

• Achieve economies of scale

• Become national category leader

Operational Risks

• Margin dilution

• Supply-chain stretch

• Governance overload

• Brand inconsistency

This is the decision point of the case

SLIDE 11 — OUR RECOMMENDATIONS (2019 VIEW)

1. Regional Prioritization

• Focus first on high-population, low-penetration states

• North & West India as growth engines

• Protect South India as profit base

2. Expansion Model

• Hybrid approach: owned stores + LLP/JV

• Multiple store formats (flagship + mid-size)

• Regional leadership layers beyond Kerala HQ

SLIDE 12 — RISKS & MITIGATIONS

Key Risks

• Governance complexity in LLPs

• Inventory mismatch by region

• Brand dilution

Mitigation Levers

• Standardized SOPs & audits

• Regional inventory hubs

• Centralized brand & marketing control

🔥 NOW COMES THE DIFFERENTIATOR

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED (2019–2025)

SLIDE 13A — WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: NUMBERS & SCALE

India Store Expansion

• 117 stores (2019) → 232 stores (2025)

• Major growth in:

  • Maharashtra: 9 → 28

  • Tamil Nadu: 14 → 28

  • Karnataka: 25 → 37

  • Uttar Pradesh: 2 → 12

  • Delhi (NCT): 3 → 11

Global Footprint

• ~250 outlets → 400+ outlets

• Countries: 10 → 13

SLIDE 13B — WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: STRATEGIC INTERPRETATION

What This Tells Us

• Expansion was not uniform — white-space driven

• North & West India became scale markets

• South India remained the profitability anchor

Malabar chose speed and footprint over cautious consolidation.

SLIDE 14A — WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: REVENUE & LEADERSHIP

Revenue Growth (₹ Cr)

• FY19: ~12,036

• FY23: ~38,568

• FY25: ~66,667

→ ~5.5× growth in 6 years

Competitive Flip

• Malabar overtook Tanishq in revenue between FY22–FY23

• Consolidated leadership by FY25

SLIDE 14B — WHAT IT MEANS STRATEGICALLY

Why Malabar Won

• Volume-led gold strategy

• Aggressive physical expansion

• Capital-efficient LLP model

• Early blocking of competitors in white spaces

Leadership came from scale, not premium positioning

SLIDE 15 — MALABAR VS TANISHQ: FINAL COMPARISON

Malabar

• Speed + scale

• Volume-driven

• White-space focused

• Operational excellence

Tanishq

• Premium & trust-led

• Slower rollout

• More controlled expansion

• Higher brand equity, lower speed

Key Insight

Tanishq didn’t fail — Malabar played a different, faster game.

SLIDE 16 — FINAL TAKEAWAY

Strategic Learning

In a thin-margin industry, national leadership is achieved through disciplined scale, not perfection.

Closing Line (Use This Verbally)

Malabar’s story shows that in Indian retail, speed plus operational discipline can outperform legacy and premium positioning.

If you want next:

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• Or prepare speaker notes for each slide

• Or help you handle prof counter-questions (on margins, sustainability, LLP risks)