Chandukaka Saraf plans 5–7 new stores this year as jewellery demand shifts
The Maharashtra-based jeweller aims to add five to seven outlets in the current calendar year, building on its 19-store network across Maharashtra and Karnataka. The expansion targets growing demand for lightweight, diamond, gemstone and silver jewellery.
What happened
Maharashtra jeweller Chandukaka Saraf plans to open five to seven stores this year, expanding beyond its 19-store network. The retailer is targeting evolving
Key facts
- 5-7 new stores planned in the current calendar year
- 19 existing stores across Maharashtra and Karnataka
- more than 1,000 employees
- 200 years in business
- founded in 1827
Why this matters
Chandukaka Saraf’s growth into a larger Maharashtra-Karnataka footprint makes regional multi-format jewellers with differentiated non-gold assortments increasingly relevant partnership or consolidation targets.
What to watch
- Exact locations, store formats and opening cadence of the planned five to seven outlets.
- Same-store sales growth and sales per square foot after new stores open.
- Mix changes across lightweight gold, diamond, gemstone, silver and bridal categories.
- Gold-price direction, volatility and consumer exchange behaviour.
- Festival and wedding-season demand conversion, especially Akshaya Tritiya, Dhanteras and regional wedding periods.
- Competitor expansion or discounting by organised chains and local jewellers in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
- Store hiring, inventory funding needs and any increase in gold-loan or working-capital dependence.
- Prioritise openings in high-density tier-2 and tier-3 Maharashtra and Karnataka catchments where organised jewellery penetration remains low and wedding demand is durable.
- Use lightweight gold and silver as acquisition categories, then build CRM-led upgrade paths into diamond, gemstone and bridal purchases.
- Increase design refresh cadence and localise collections around regional festivals, wedding calendars and community preferences.
- Deploy transparent pricing, exchange, old-gold buyback and instalment propositions to reduce gold-price affordability friction.
- Secure store-level profitability through cluster expansion, shared inventory pools and disciplined rent-to-sales thresholds.
- Monitor competitor promotions and avoid margin-destructive making-charge discounting in newly entered catchments.