Kalyan Jewellers launches Tamil Nadu-focused brand to compete with local jewellers

Kalyan Jewellers is scaling Akshaya Thanga Maligai with regional designs and competitive pricing in Tamil Nadu, alongside a FOCO-led expansion strategy. It plans 50 more Candere stores in FY27 and is targeting zero non-GML debt.

— Source published Thu, 20 Aug, 2026, 13:57 IST · First seen Thu, 20 Aug, 2026, 14:11 IST · Source ET Small Business

What happened

Kalyan Jewellers will launch and scale Tamil Nadu-focused Akshaya Thanga Maligai, using regional designs and competitive pricing to target local jewellers. It

Key facts

  • 342 Kalyan showrooms in India
  • 41 international showrooms
  • 124 Candere stores at FY26 end
  • 507 global showrooms
  • 129 Kalyan and Candere showrooms added in FY26
  • 50 additional Candere stores planned in FY27
  • 70% of showrooms outside South India as of March 31, 2026
  • 73% of standalone Indian showroom network in non-metros
  • 1,139 My Kalyan centres
  • 4,375 outreach personnel
  • over 10 million annual customer connections
  • around 20% of India operating revenue contributed by My Kalyan
  • Candere FY26 revenue ₹4,253 million, up 160%
  • FY27 gross-debt target ₹13,000 million
  • FY26 gross debt ₹16,001 million
  • FY26 non-GML debt ₹3,168 million
  • FY26 ROCE 28.8%

Why this matters

Kalyan’s move highlights the strategic value of acquiring, partnering with or incubating strong regional jewellery brands that can retain local trust while leveraging national-scale sourcing and expansion capabilities.

What to watch

  • Number, location mix and same-store sales trajectory of Akshaya Thanga Maligai stores over the next 4-6 quarters.
  • Evidence of sales cannibalisation between Akshaya Thanga Maligai and existing Kalyan stores in overlapping Tamil Nadu catchments.
  • Gross-margin and making-charge trends versus Kalyan's core business, especially during wedding and festival periods.
  • FOCO franchisee additions, store opening pace, closure rates and franchisee-level payback periods.
  • Tamil Nadu competitor responses from major regional chains and independent jewellers, including discounting and new localized collections.
  • Candere store-opening progress toward the planned 50 additional FY27 stores and its online-to-offline conversion metrics.
  • Non-GML debt reduction, working-capital intensity, gold-loan dependence and inventory-turn improvement.
  • Open Akshaya Thanga Maligai outlets in tier-2 and tier-3 Tamil Nadu jewellery clusters before moving into saturated Chennai and major-city catchments.
  • Use FOCO partners to accelerate rollout while retaining control over assortment, gold sourcing, pricing guardrails, store design and customer-data capture.
  • Build Tamil wedding, temple-jewellery and lightweight daily-wear collections distinct from the Kalyan assortment.
  • Deploy localized Tamil-language campaigns, festival calendars, gold-savings plans and exchange offers to convert customers from independent jewellers.
  • Cross-sell Candere's digital-first, lightweight and diamond-led assortment into Tamil Nadu markets, using stores for fulfilment and trust-building.
  • Prioritize operating cash generation, inventory turns and franchise-funded expansion to support the zero non-GML debt target.