Chennai-based Lalithaa Jewellery Mart files DRHP for Rs 1,700 crore IPO to fuel southern expansion

Lalithaa Jewellery Mart, a Chennai-headquartered jewellery retailer offering gold, silver, and diamond jewellery designed for southern Indian markets, has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise Rs 1,700 crore through an initial public offering (IPO).

The proposed Rs 1,700 crore IPO comprises a fresh issue of up to Rs 1,200 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of Rs 500 crore by promoter M. Kiran Kumar Jain. The company also plans a reservation for eligible employees with a bidding discount and may undertake a pre-IPO placement of up to 20% of the fresh issue size, which would proportionally reduce the fresh issue.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will be primarily deployed towards capital expenditure for setting up new stores in India, amounting to Rs 1,014.50 crore, with the balance allocated for general corporate purposes, the company said in its filing. The issue will follow the book-building process, allocating no more than 50% of the net offer to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), and reserving at least 15% and 35% for non-institutional investors and retail individual investors, respectively.

The company proposes to list its shares on the National Stock Exchange of India and BSE Ltd.

Founded in 1985, Lalithaa Jewellery Mart opened its first store in Chennai’s T. Nagar, a hub for silk and jewellery retail. The company operates 56 stores across southern India’s Tier I, II, and III cities, including 22 in Andhra Pradesh, 20 in Tamil Nadu, seven in Karnataka, six in Telangana, and one in Puducherry, spanning a total operational area of 6,09,408 sq. ft. As of December 31, 2024, 47 of these stores each cover more than 5,000 sq. ft.

According to a CRISIL report cited in the DRHP, Lalithaa Jewellery Mart recorded the highest operating revenue per store among key organised jewellery players in India between fiscal years 2022 and 2024. It is also ranked the second fastest growing regional jewellery player based on operating revenue growth during the same period, posting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.62%.

The company’s jewellery schemes, ‘Dhana Vandhanam’ and ‘Free-yo-Flexi,’ have attracted repeat customers, with 420,261 active enrolments as of December 31, 2024.

Lalithaa Jewellery Mart runs two manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu, one at Thirumudivakkam, Chennai, and another at Maraimalai, Kanchipuram, the latter through its wholly owned subsidiary Asita Manufacturing Private Limited. From December 2024, operations commenced at the Thirumudivakkam facility. The company employs a total of 563 Karigars across both manufacturing units.

The company also operates one of India’s largest jewellery stores in Vijayawada, with a carpet area of 1,00,000 sq. ft., alongside large-format stores in Somajiguda (98,210 sq. ft.) and Vishakhapatnam (65,000 sq. ft.), making them among the largest jewellery retail outlets in the country, according to CRISIL.

Financially, Lalithaa Jewellery Mart reported a 26.07% increase in restated consolidated revenue from Rs 13,316.80 crore in fiscal 2023 to Rs 16,788.05 crore in fiscal 2024, driven by the rise in store count from 47 to 53, higher gold rates, and increased gold sales. For the nine months ended December 31, 2024, the company posted revenue of Rs 12,594.67 crore and profit after tax of Rs 262.33 crore.

The Indian gems and jewellery retail industry was valued at Rs 6.49 trillion in fiscal 2024 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13–14% to reach Rs 12–12.2 trillion by fiscal 2029. South India remains the largest jewellery-consuming region, accounting for 38–43% of the country’s overall jewellery demand.

Anand Rathi Advisors and Equirus Capital are the book-running lead managers for the issue, while MUFG Intime India serves as registrar.

Also read | IPO calendar: 4 new issues, 1 listing lined up in a busy mid-June week

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)