The Gold Standard of Trust

From a single showroom in Thrissur to a network of 546 stores across continents, Kalyan Jewellers has turned an old-fashioned promise into a modern growth engine. Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman explains how the brand's franchise-owned, company-operated model is opening the door for investors who want to build on three decades of customer trust.

In India, jewellery is never just jewellery. It is a bride's first heirloom, a family's rainy-day savings and the centrepiece of every festival worth celebrating. A purchase like that is rarely made on price alone. Customers want to know that the gold is pure, the weight is honest and the store will still be there when the next generation comes to buy.

For more than 30 years, Kalyan Jewellers has built its business on exactly that assurance. What began in 1993 as a single showroom in Kerala is today one of the most recognised names in Indian jewellery retail, with 546 showrooms across India and international markets as of 30 September 2026. The company is publicly listed, present in the Middle East, the United States and the United Kingdom, and runs a fast-growing digital-first brand in Candere.

The next chapter of that story is being written with partners. Since introducing franchising in the first quarter of FY23, Kalyan Jewellers has used its FOCO (Franchise Owned, Company Operated) model to expand faster and deeper, particularly in Tier II and Tier III towns where organised jewellery retail is still finding its feet. For entrepreneurs, the proposition is distinctive: invest in a showroom backed by one of the country's most trusted retail brands, while the company runs the business day to day.

In a conversation with Franchise India, Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers, discusses the brand's vision, the logic behind its franchise model and why, in a business built on trust, growth must never come at the cost of credibility.

A Promise Made in Thrissur

When Kalyan Jewellers opened its doors in Thrissur in 1993, jewellery retail in India was largely unorganised. Purity was often a matter of faith, pricing was opaque and the customer had few ways to verify what they were buying. The founders saw an opportunity in that uncertainty. They built the business around quality assurance, transparent pricing and an uncompromising focus on purity, betting that customers would reward a jeweller they could trust.

The bet paid off. Those principles created long-term relationships with customers, and those relationships became the foundation of everything that followed. The brand grew beyond Kerala into other Indian states, then overseas. Along the way it marked several defining milestones: the launch of Candere, its stock market listing in 2021 and, more recently, its entry into the United States and the United Kingdom.

Kalyanaraman is clear that geography alone was never the goal. Jewellery is deeply tied to local traditions, and what sells at a wedding in Kerala may look nothing like what a family in Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh wants. Expansion, he says, has depended on understanding each market, building the right retail presence and staying relevant to customers region by region.

“For us, expansion is not simply about increasing our footprint; it is about taking the same promise of trust and transparency to more customers, wherever we operate.”

— Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers

That conviction shapes the brand's five-year vision. Kalyan Jewellers intends to strengthen its presence across India and key international markets, enter newer geographies and win a larger share of a jewellery sector that is steadily shifting from unorganised to organised players. Investment in the retail network, technology and customer experience will continue, but with a firm eye on keeping growth sustainable and capital-efficient. Franchising sits at the heart of that plan.

Built to Scale

As of 30 September 2026, the network comprised 546 showrooms across India and international markets, including 365 Kalyan Jewellers showrooms in India and 138 Candere stores. It is a footprint that combines two formats: COCO (Company Owned, Company Operated) stores, which anchor the brand in key markets, and FOCO stores, which allow it to grow faster while drawing on partner investment.

Much of the next phase of growth will come from smaller cities. Kalyanaraman sees significant potential in Tier II and Tier III markets, where rising incomes and aspirations are meeting a growing preference for branded, hallmarked jewellery. Recent openings in towns such as Kolhapur, Tumkur and Kasganj reflect that strategy. At the same time, the company continues to deepen its presence in the metros. Each new store, he notes, is calibrated to local demand and market potential.

This is where franchising proves its value. Smaller cities often have local business families with capital, community standing and an intimate understanding of their market, but no access to a national jewellery brand or the expertise to run one. The FOCO model connects the two. A partner brings the investment and local roots; Kalyan brings the name, the product and the operating discipline. The result is a showroom that can open with the credibility of a national brand from its very first day.

Overseas, the Middle East has long been a cornerstone of the business, and the move into the US and UK signals a broader ambition. The long-term aim is to be present wherever there is a significant Indian diaspora. Southeast Asia, Australia and Canada are among the markets under evaluation, each to be entered in a calibrated, sustainable manner.

The brand is also adapting to a changing customer. Alongside traditional, occasion-led purchases for weddings and festivals, there is growing demand for everyday jewellery, self-expression and more accessible price points. Candere gives Kalyan a direct line to younger, digitally savvy buyers and to gifting occasions that fall well outside the wedding season. Its omnichannel platform is designed to make the journey between online discovery and the in-store experience seamless.

Technology runs through the rest of the business too. Artificial intelligence helps designers refine traditional patterns and reduce their gold weight, making intricate pieces lighter and more affordable without losing their character. Store locators, store-level pages and analytics help showrooms connect with local customers, while an AI-driven assistant answers queries around the clock. Behind the counter, technology manages inventory, tracks demand and keeps processes consistent across more than 500 showrooms. Yet Kalyanaraman is careful to keep that in perspective: jewellery remains a deeply human purchase, and technology should support the experience, not replace it.

The FOCO Advantage

Kalyan Jewellers introduced franchising in Q1 FY23, shortly after its listing. The objective was twofold: to accelerate expansion without tying up large amounts of company capital, and to penetrate more deeply into markets where the brand was already known. The model chosen was deliberate. Under FOCO, the franchise partner owns the showroom, while Kalyan Jewellers runs it.

In practice, partners invest in the showroom and its inventory. The company, in turn, manages store operations, inventory and the customer experience. That division of roles is what makes the opportunity unusual in jewellery retail, a category where product knowledge, purity control and customer service take years to master. Partners gain the strength of an established brand, proven retail systems and a pan-India presence, without needing to become jewellers themselves.

The model has also given the brand a balanced network. Franchise stores support rapid expansion, while COCO stores remain central to its presence in key markets. Together, they allow Kalyan Jewellers to scale efficiently while keeping firm control over operations, customer experience and brand standards. In Kalyanaraman's words, the focus is on building the right partnerships and widening the footprint without compromising the customer trust that defines the brand.

For the brand, the arrangement protects what matters most. Every store is run the same way, with the same trained teams, processes and service standards. All jewellery is BIS-hallmarked and goes through multiple purity tests, and inventory and design curation are managed centrally. With transparent pricing and one national brand voice, a customer in a Tier III town receives the same Kalyan experience as one in a large city. Whether a showroom is company-owned or franchise-owned makes no difference at the counter.

That consistency extends to how technology supports partners. Shared systems and data keep quality uniform across the network and give franchise owners timely insight into what is selling, an advantage that will only grow as AI improves demand forecasting and inventory planning.

So who makes the right partner? Kalyan looks for investors with strong financial credentials and a long-term business outlook. Investment requirements and returns vary with the market, location, showroom size and other factors, and each proposal is assessed on its own merits. The tests are commercial viability, sustainable returns and long-term value for both sides.

“We view franchising as a long-term partnership, where the partner's commitment and our retail expertise work together to build a sustainable business.”

— Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers

It is a view grounded in experience. Kalyanaraman believes a franchise business must begin with a strong brand and a proven retail model, supported by research, brand recall and a clear sense of market acceptance. The performance of existing showrooms, he argues, is the best indicator of whether a model can be replicated. The economics must work for both partner and brand, with margins that support a viable, long-term business. Above all, franchising cannot be rushed; premature franchising can do more harm than good. His advice to aspiring franchisees is to seek out brands that have built that foundation before they scale.

The Road Ahead

Kalyanaraman's thinking about growth is shaped as much by family as by business. The Kalyan family moved from textiles to jewellery, a shift that taught an enduring lesson: a business can change, but its values must not. When customers hand over their savings and celebrations, the jeweller carries a responsibility that goes beyond any single sale.

“Trust takes years to earn and moments to lose, especially when customers place their savings and celebrations in your hands.”

— Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers

That principle explains why the brand's expansion has been deliberate rather than hurried. Lasting businesses, he believes, grow step by step, with people who feel part of the journey. It is a value his father hopes the next generation will carry forward, and one he intends to pass on himself.

The same patience will guide how the company embraces new technology. Kalyanaraman expects AI to make jewellery retail more personal and efficient, through tailored recommendations, easier ways to explore designs before visiting a store, and sharper demand forecasting. For franchising, shared systems and data will help keep quality consistent across every showroom and give partners a clearer view of their business. But the moments that matter, the wedding set chosen with a mother, the festival coin bought for a child, will remain human ones. Technology, in his view, exists to make those moments better, not to take their place.

Away from the boardroom, Kalyanaraman finds balance in films, music and travel, and above all in time with his family. Those moments, he says, help him recharge and return to work with a fresh perspective.

For the Indian jewellery market, the direction of travel is clear. Customers are moving towards organised, hallmarked and transparent retail, and they are doing so not only in the metros but in the towns and cities that make up the country's next wave of consumption. Kalyan Jewellers intends to meet them there, with company-run discipline and partner-funded reach.

For investors looking for a franchise opportunity in a high-value, trust-driven category, the brand offers something that is difficult to replicate: three decades of customer confidence and an operating model that lets partners share in it. As Kalyan Jewellers writes its next chapter, the promise remains the one first made in Thrissur in 1993. Only now, more people have a stake in keeping it.