Gitanjali Gems inks MOU with Sulieman Al Othaim of Saudi Arabia

Mumbai, Nov 21 (UNI) Gitanjali Gems has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to have a 50:50 joint venture with Sulieman Al Othaim of Saudi Arabia, one of the leading retail chains in the Middle East.

Announcing this to BSE, the company said this JV will facilitate the entry of the Company into mainstream retail in Saudi Arabia leveraging Sulieman Al Othaim's chain of various specialty stores across the region and will augment the profitability considerably.

As Saudi Arabia is one of the largest diamond jewellery consuming markets, the Company expects a robust growth from this venture in the following years.

The JV between the Gitanjali Gems and Sulieman Al Othaim group is part of the group endeavour to expand to new markets. It would provide platform for the Company to create a strong position in Saudi Arabia along with the JV partner.

Under the JV, the Company envisages to create various new branding programmes to market jewellery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This would include brands like Rayana, La Baguette, Hart to Hart. These brands will cater to the local population.

That apart, the Company envisages to market the Indian brands from the Company portfolio like Nakshatra, Asmi and Sangini in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The success of these brands in UAE has opened up a huge market in the Middle East as these brands are preferred by locals as well as non resident Indians.

Distribution of the above brands in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be by way of setting up additional retail stores in next two years time.

The JV would also set up the whole jewellery business that would service various independent/ chain stores.

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