Founder & Chairman | Joyalukkas Group
Joy Alukkas, Founder & Chairman of the Joyalukkas Group, has transcended industry standards to create a new global benchmark in purity, choice and range of designs over the last 35 years in the UAE. He is recognized as a visionary entrepreneur and admired the world over for his innovative retail strategies and comprehensive understanding of the jewellery trade. Little wonder than, Joyalukkas is a household name for millions of jewellery lovers.
Mr Alukkas is a man who has passionately worked to build and create a thriving business in the jewellery industry. Hailed by the esteemd Forbes magazine as a success story on many occasions, Mr. Alukkas continues to reinvent the brand to keep it relevant to his target audience. His other ventures into vastly differing verticals have also become successful businesses in their respective categories and helped consolidate the Joyalukkas Group as a global conglomerate under his relentless stewardship.
Going for Gold
It was the year 1956 that a single jewellery store was opened in Thrissur, Kerala. Varghese Alukkas started the establishment in the same year as the birth of his son, Joy. Against all odds it was to become the seed of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate with branches spread across the world. After completing his schooling in Thrissur, he decided to join the family business, where he made his mark by leading the family businesses foray into the Middle East.
In the year 1987 Joy Alukkas arrived in the UAE and set up his first jewellery showroom in Dubai, armed with an insightful experience in the industry, and his undeterring determination. Influenced strongly by the reputation that the UAE was shaping up as a business hub that was welcoming of expatriates, he recalls his move to the fast-growing metropolis as a young man with fondness. His reasoning was impeccable. In his own words, “My logic was that if I was moving to start a new venture, let me go to a destination which had a customer profile that I knew and understood.”
However, even his readiness for the business and experience faced a challenge during his early years in the country; because the UAE jewellery business was in its early stages and the customer mindset and purchasing pattern were very different from what he expected unused to and to add to this there was instability in the Gulf region. It is here that the significant difference between Joy and the many others who launched their own enterprise began to show. He credits his perseverance in the face of his struggles to the encouragement and support of his beloved family.
The Midas Touch
He now cherishes the rough early days for the valuable lessons they bestowed upon him as a burgeoning businessman in the region, as they helped him become stronger and wiser in his dealings and choices. One of his big initiatives and brainchild was the introduction of raffles draws in jewellery retail. As the man with the Midas Touch puts it, “This created a huge impact and a solid base of loyal customers for Joyalukkas.
From the very beginning, l realised the importance of earning customer loyalty for the success of my business and I did everything to ensure our people kept shopping at Joyalukkas.” The initial strife left the trailblazer even better equipped to grow his business by giving him a powerful crash course in entering and flourishing in new markets.
Not one to waste hard-earned success, the year 2001 marks the time that the Group changed its name and identity to become the recognizable brand that has risen to the level of a household name today; the Joyalukkas Group. With his strong experience in venturing and thriving in new markets, the visionary entrepreneur ventured back home as part of the Group’s expansion under its new identity.
Today, Joyalukkas Jewellery is a chain of 130 showrooms spread across 11 countries. His aim to become the world’s favourite jeweller has translated to his firm expanding across the GCC, Singapore, Malaysia, UK, USA and India. Joyalukkas is the first jewellery chain to be awarded both the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification, and today it has become a global benchmark for purity, trust, choice and exquisite designs.
Family is the Foundation for Success
The creation of Joyalukkas can be credited entirely to the deep bond between Joy and his father. He recollects with fond nostalgia his everyday routine during his early years, which included waiting for his father at the shop in Thrissur as he conducted his business. In the tycoon’s own words; “Watching and observing my fathers daily activities was my first training in the gold business”.
The founder is quick to credit his family and does not hesitate to empower them through active leadership roles in the Group. His wife Jolly Joy spearheads the Joyalukkas Foundation and they have been blessed with 3 children. Their son John Paul manages the conglomerate’s International Operations through his position as Managing Director, and his wife and mother of his 3 children works alongside him at its Dubai headquarters.
Mr Alukkas·s elder daughter Mary has 2 daughters and a son with her husband Antony, who is the Managing Director of Joyalukkas Money Exchange. Meanwhile, the youngest of Mr Alukkas’s children; Elsa, applies her degree from Switzerland by managing Jolly Silks and many other projects and initiatives on behalf of the group. The hard work, care and time that the Chairman has poured into his business has not gone unnoticed.
Unsurprisingly, Joy can name several accolades to his credit. Being recognised by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai at the Dubai Quality Awards program was a special moment in this life. In the same vein, his listings in Forbes Magazine as part of its World’s Billionaire’s list and India’s Rich list come as no surprise.
The Gold Standard
A notable fact about the magnate is how his unassuming personality belies his tremendous drive and ambition. The dawn of the Joyalukkas Group saw it venture back to India where it exploded into the regional jewellery scene, with its rapid expansion culminating in the setting up the world’s largest showroom in Chennai which was also recognized by the Limca Book of records.
While his upbringing nurtured his love of the gold and jewellery industry, Mr Alukkas’s natural curiosity and passion for business has led to the Group to launch verticals acrosss many different industries. Jolly Silks, the fashion and silks retailer, has grown to become a household name in Kerala by offering premium quality fashion clothing and silks with excellent marketing support and celebrity endorsements.
Joyalukkas Exchange taps into the ever-growing need to transfer funds by expats in the Middle East as the world embraces the global citizen concept, while Joyalukkas Lifestyle Developers builds homes that live up to the gold standards that the Group is renowned for. His passion and talent for retail are highlighted in Mall of Joy, one of the numerous malls that the Group has built and manages, while his compassion for people is captured through the grace of Joyalukkas Foundation and its many philanthropic activities.
Awards & Accolades
♦ First Jewellery Chain to be awarded both the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification
♦ Leading retail magazine Retail ME picked Joyalukkas as the Best Retailer of the Year. Middle East
♦ Joyalukkas CSR My 0.50 wins the Best practice Conference
♦ Recognised as one of the Top 100 Business Leaders in the UAE by Arabian Business Magazine
♦ Awarded the Best Chain of Retail Stores International at the 1st India Bullion & Jewellery Awards
♦ Joyalukkas Jewellery won the World’s Largest Retailer Award from GJTCI
♦ Best TV Campaign & Best 360 Degree Marketing Award on multiple occasions at Retail Jeweller India Awards
♦ Joy Alukkas was recongnised and awarded for his special contribution to Gems & Jewellery Industry at Retail Jeweller Award 2014
♦ Best Overseas Retailer
♦ Recognised by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, under the Dubai Quality Awards program for creating and maintaining international standards across all business operations and departments
♦ Won the Superbrand status 6 years in a row in UAE
♦ Won the Consumers Choice Award
♦ Won the NRI Retailer Award of the Year
♦ Won the Middle East Retailer Award & Asian Achiever of the Year in the UK
♦ Awarded and recognised by UBM India and Hitech Jewellery Manufacturers Association Award for being the Leading Importer of India and Leading Retailer of India
♦ Awarded The Times Group’s Brand Icon Award for being a Global Jeweller
♦ Awarded the Best Chain of Retail Stores at the International at the 2nd India Bullion & Jewellery Awards Joy Alukkas has been honoured as The Most Respected Entrepreneur in Kerala
♦ Joyalukkas won The Best Chain of Retail Store – International at the 3rd India Bullion & Jewellery awards
♦ Recognised by Limca Book of World Records for the Largest Jewellery Showroom in the World in Chennai, India
♦ Listed in Forbes Magazine in both their World’s Billionaire’s list as well as their India’s Rich list.
♦ Joyalukkas won the GJTCI Excellence Award 2015 in acknowledgement of contribution and outstanding achievement in the Gem & Jewellery sector
♦ Honoured with the Business Excellence Award by IBPC
♦ Honoured as Top Indian Leader in the Arab World
♦ Recognised with the Dubai Service Excellence Scheme Award
♦Won the NRI BusinessMan of the Year in 2015
♦Won UK Business Excellence Award
♦Honored with the Business Innovator Award by NDTV
♦Won MD & CEO Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility, organised by The Retail Jewellery Group in Mumbai