Malabar Gold & Diamonds is one of the biggest jewellery retailers in India and the Gulf. Its chairman, M.P. Ahammed, started his career in a very different business. Here is his story, from profiles and public records.
The short version
- M.P. Ahammed was born in Kozhikode, Kerala, in 1957 and studied commerce at the University of Calicut.
- At 17 he started a small agro-products business, and later traded in spices and copra (dried coconut).
- In 1993 he started the Malabar jewellery business in Kozhikode with eight employees. One profile puts the starting capital at ₹50 lakh.
Early lessons
Going abroad was not easy at first. Profiles say an early showroom in Dubai closed within about eight months because of inexperience. Ahammed took charge of international expansion in 2007 and chose Sharjah, which has a large community of Asian workers, as a base. The business began with wholesale and then moved into retail.
What the company says sets it apart
Profiles mention buy-back policies, lifetime exchange offers and a focus on customer service as part of its approach. These are claims from the company and profiles, and customers’ experiences may vary.
How big is it now?
- Stores: Sources differ. A 2024 profile and a 2026 Entrepreneur Middle East article point to more than 400 showrooms in about 14 countries. An older Wikipedia entry lists around 340 in 13 countries.
- Revenue: The only figures we found are old: reportedly ₹12,000 crore in 2012 and ₹22,000 crore in 2013. We did not find a recent annual figure.
- Family: His son, Shamlal Ahamed, is the managing director of international operations.
A note on a popular claim: A story often shared online says he lost ₹17 lakh in an early venture. We could not confirm this from the sources we checked, so we have left it out.
If you are thinking about gold this festive season, our guide to buying gold on Dhanteras explains the real cost of jewellery.
Questions to think about
- What can a business learn from an early failure in a new country?
- Do buy-back and exchange policies matter to you when you buy jewellery?
- How does a family-run company stay professional as it grows?
Why Kerala and the Gulf matter in the gold trade
Kerala has one of the highest levels of gold buying in India, and a large number of its people have worked in Gulf countries for decades. Jewellery chains that began in Kerala found a ready customer base among Indian workers in the Gulf, where Dubai and Sharjah are major gold-trading hubs. This link between home and the Gulf helped several Kerala-based jewellers grow into international brands.
How big jewellery chains compete
- Trust and purity: since 2021, hallmarking with a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark has been compulsory for gold jewellery in most of India, and each piece now carries a six-digit HUID code that buyers can check on the BIS CARE app.
- Making charges: chains compete on how much they charge for design and labour on top of the gold price.
- Exchange and buy-back: policies on old gold can matter a lot to families who trade in jewellery every few years.
- Store experience: large showrooms, wide designs and festive offers draw customers during weddings and festivals like Dhanteras and Akshaya Tritiya.
Before you buy gold jewellery
Check the HUID hallmark, ask for a clear bill that shows the gold weight, purity, making charges and GST separately, and compare making charges across stores. Our Dhanteras 2026 gold buying guide works through a full example of what 10 grams of jewellery really costs.
Related reading
- Dhanteras 2026: date, shubh muhurat and smart tips to buy gold
- Startup basics: a plain-English glossary for entrepreneurs
- Startup funding this week: Indian startups raised $123 million
Sources: Wikipedia, Franchise India, Entrepreneur Middle East, and Economic Times coverage cited there.
Founder stories are often retold online with slightly different details. Where sources disagree, we say so, and company figures change over time, so please check the latest numbers before relying on them.
