Born in Kozhikode, Kerala, M.P. Ahammed failed in his first business, selling agro products at 17. At 23, he lost his father, and he had to take care of his mother and five sisters. At 24, he decided to do something.
2. He took a single-ticket train journey to Calicut, Kerala, and decided to start another startup. He ventured into the spices and copra business, dealing in cardamom, pepper, and coconuts. He finally thought he had it. But something happened again.
3. The market was challenging to scale and already had enough players. M.P. Ahammed was deep in losses of 17 lakhs and had no option but to shut his business again. He had to do something to make his family survive. He started doing market research again and noticed something.
4. The government devalued the currency from ₹17.5 in 1990 to 30 by 1993. Ahammed knew that they would stock up on gold, and its value would increase, prompting people to buy. On 17 September 1993, he started a 200 sq ft jewellery shop in Kozhikode with all his life savings. Malabar Gold was born.
5. 5. Owing its name to Malabar coast, he targeted the large immigrant Malyali population in the Middle East using a unique model. He would partner with local business people and give them a 15% interest on debentures that would convert as soon as a store hits profit. And the idea worked.
6. It scaled to a revenue of 16 CR but he still needed to solve the quality and price issues. He noticed that everybody sold 24 Carat gold with 99.99% gold. However, this led to high making charges, making selling expensive. He had to come up with a plan.
7. Ahammed sold only 22-carat gold, which is 91.67% gold, which entailed lesser making costs and allowed him to sell cheap. He also sold 100% BIS hallmark gold with a carat check analyser for purity at the same price in every Indian city. By 2005, It became a 500 CR company.
8. Malabar Gold was driving 40% of business from the Middle East due to no import duties, but it had no stores. In 2008, it opened its 20th overall and first store in the UAE. By 2012, it had started selling diamonds and had rebranded to Malabar Gold & Diamond. It clocked sales of 12,000 CR.
9. But the following year changed Malabar forever. On 30 September 2013, it opened its 100th store in Gold Souk, Gurgaon, Haryana. Growing 83% in a single year, it posted revenues of 22000 CR by 2013. By 2018, it had 215 stores and became the jewellery brand with the highest number of stores in India.
10. 10. Today, the Malabar group is a 53000 CR empire with 15 business verticals in real estate, luxury watch brands, home appliances, and shopping malls. However, its star remains Malabar Gold and Diamonds, with 350+ stores in 13 countries.
M.P. Ahammed still shelters 15,000 families, educates 20,000 children, and treats 1 million patients for free through the Malabar Charitable Trust.
