Spreading Joy: How Joyalukkas Became the World's Favourite Jeweller

Written by Joy Alukkas, Thomas Scaria and Nidhi Jain

Narrated by P. Mathai Abraham

Thrissur, on the coast of Kerala, is known as India's 'gold town'. It was here that Puthussery Alukka Joseph Varghese moved into jewellery retail from his umbrella business in the late 1950s. One of his ­fifteen children, Joy Alukkas, seemed to have inherited his father's entrepreneurial spirit. In 1986, the quest for his personal El Dorado took Joy to the modern 'city of gold': Dubai.

Getting to know the lay of the land, including aspects of procurement, staffing, sales and other regulations, exacerbated by the language barrier, was a challenge that could dampen any entrepreneur's spirit, but Joy persisted and opened the fi­rst 'Alukkas' jewellery store in Abu Dhabi, followed soon after by another in Dubai. Just as business was taking off, the Gulf War broke out in 1990, disrupting every aspect of life and forcing Joy to return to India. Not only did a resilient Joy go back to the Gulf some months later, but he also re-established the Alukkas footprint, opening stores within and around the UAE. In the next two decades, he expanded his business to eleven countries with more than 160 outlets, and revolutionized the gold-retailing business with innovations such as the use of karatmeter, the fi­rst billing so-ware in the industry and board rate for gold price, to mention a few. Throughout the years, the ethos of his business has remained the same: to be the 'customer's favourite jeweller'.

Spreading Joy not only captures a phenomenal entrepreneurial story, but also provides rare insights into an industry that has predominantly been fragmented and unorganized. Aspiring entrepreneurs, irrespective of the industry they operate in, will ­find this book of immense value as they build their dream organizations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins India
• Release date: Mar 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9789356995284

Joy Alukkas

Joy Alukkas is the founder and chairman of the eponymous global retail brand Joyalukkas Jewellery. Originally from Thrissur in Kerala, he is credited with modernizing the Indian jewellery retail business globally. Branching out on his own from a family-run business, he disrupted the traditional model of standalone jewellery stores and created a global chain comprising 160 stores in India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the UK and the US. His diverse business interests include forex remittance and textile retail under the brand name Joyalukkas Exchange and Jolly Silks, respectively. He figures on the Forbes' Billionaires list of 2023 and is regarded as one of the most prominent business leaders of the Arab world.