Indian retail network opens 1st global showroom in Dubai

Handwoven Indian Kanchipuram sarees will now be available in the UAE from one of the largest wholesale and retail dealer, Kalyan Silks.Kalyan Silks opened its first global showroom in Karama, Dubai, onDecember 16. This will be followed by outlets in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Colombo and Malaysia.

According to an official at Kalyan Silks, which claims to be the world’s largest silk showroom network in India, the Karama showroom will be one of its kind in the Middle East.  Speaking to 'Emirates24|7', T S Pattabhiraman, Chairman and Managing Director, Kalyan Silks, said that company could not go global until now because of a shortage of skilled craftsman. “Between 10-15 per cent of our customers are Non-Resident Indians from the UAE and other countries. Our guest book contains many requests to open a showroom in Dubai,” he said. 

Silk saree weaving is a deteriorating handloom industry in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, where many silk producers have committed suicide due to poor yields and growing debt. 

Kanchipuram sarees are world famous, made by skilled craftsmen from the temple city of Kanchi. Kanchipuram town is also known as Silk City since the main profession of about 5,000 people living in and around there is weaving silk sarees. 

“We are encouraging more weavers to remain in the profession. A weaver now earns Indian Rupees 1,000 per day, and we hope more weavers will join the profession,” he said. 

Many Indian textile retail chains in the UAE have imitated the leading brands back home, but have no relationship with the parent companies. “I am aware of the brand imitation happening here. Our name Kalyan Silks has been registered in Dubai for a decade. We were always worried that someone may start a showroom misusing our company name and logo. There are other textile retailers who are misusing the  Indian companies brand name and logo. Many of these companies don’t have any relationship with the original Indian companies,” he said in response to a question. 

Kalyan Silks has a network of 12 major showrooms in Kerala and about 4,000 staff and plans are on to add five more showrooms. “We are happy to take the Indian r etail textile industry to the global market. We decided to start our international operations with the Dubai showroom for a  particular reason. A major chunk of our NRI customers are based out of UAE, especially Dubai.”  

The textile chain has roped in Prithviraj, the young superstar of South Indian movies, as its brand ambassador.

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