Assistant Manager - Business Development (Retail Expansion)

Keemti Gems Jewellery Retail; Hyderabad; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Keemti is a luxury jewellery brand focusing on lab-grown diamonds and gold jewellery, expanding its retail footprint across South India. Assistant Manager – Retail Expansion / Business Development – South will identify and close new retail opportunities, assess markets and lead property negotiations.

Base locations include Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad or Kochi with extensive travel across the South. The role drives store openings by coordinating with Legal, Finance and Design teams involved in

Qualifications

• 3–6 years in retail expansion or property acquisition.
• Experience in jewellery, luxury or premium retail preferred.
• Strong market knowledge of South India.
• Extensive travel across South India.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Identify and develop new retail opportunities across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
• Build a robust pipeline of potential properties and conduct market visits.
• Prepare location feasibility reports and competitive analysis for management.
• Develop relationships with landlords, mall management, brokers and developers.
• Coordinate with sales, legal and finance teams for transactions and documentation.
• Track milestones, store openings and post-opening support.

Skills

Negotiation skills

Relationship management

Analytical thinking

Communication and presentation skills

Travel readiness

Tools

MS Excel

Google Sheets

PowerPoint

Job description

Job Description

Assistant Manager Retail Expansion / Business Development South

Company: Keemti

Function: Retail Expansion / Business Development

Region: South India

Base Location: Bengaluru / Chennai / Hyderabad / Kochi – depending on candidate

Employment Type: Full-Time

Reports To: Head – Retail Expansion / Business Head

Travel: Extensive travel across the South Region

About Keemti

Keemti is a new-age luxury jewellery brand focused on lab-grown diamonds and gold jewellery. As we rapidly expand our retail footprint across India, we are building a strong presence across key markets in South India.

We are looking for an Assistant Manager – Retail Expansion / Business Development – South who will support the identification, evaluation and closure of new retail opportunities across the region.

Key Responsibilities

1. South India Retail Expansion

• Identify and develop new retail opportunities across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
• Identify high-potential markets, cities, micro-markets and catchments for Keemti stores.
• Build and continuously maintain a strong pipeline of potential retail properties.
• Conduct extensive market visits and property scouting.
• Identify opportunities across:
• High Streets
• Premium shopping destinations
• Malls
• Commercial developments
• Emerging retail markets
• Track upcoming malls, high-street developments and new commercial projects.

2. Location & Market Assessment

Conduct detailed market studies for proposed locations covering:

• Customer demographics
• Catchment population
• Footfall
• Visibility and frontage
• Accessibility
• Parking availability
• Jewellery market potential
• Existing jewellery competition
• Nearby premium/luxury brands
• Rental and commercial benchmarks
• Store size and layout feasibility
• Expected sales potential

Prepare location feasibility reports and comparative analysis for management review.

3. Retail Real Estate & Property Acquisition

• Develop strong relationships with:
• Landlords
• Mall management teams
• Property consultants
• Real-estate brokers
• Developers
• Local business networks
• Source properties through direct and indirect channels.
• Arrange and conduct property visits.
• Obtain commercial proposals and negotiate preliminary terms.
• Support negotiations around:
• Coordinate with Legal and Finance teams for commercial evaluation and documentation.

4. Competitive Intelligence

• Map jewellery competitors across key South Indian markets.
• Track competitor store locations, formats and expansion plans.
• Study brands such as traditional jewellery chains, premium jewellery brands and emerging D2C/LGD players.
• Identify white spaces and under-served markets.
• Provide regular market intelligence to the management team.

5. Business Case & Commercial Evaluation

• Prepare detailed location comparison and feasibility reports.
• Analyse potential sales versus occupancy cost.
• Support store investment and ROI calculations.
• Prepare recommendations for management approval.
• Track proposed stores from lead site visit evaluation negotiation approval closure.

6. Store Opening Coordination

Once a property is approved:

• Coordinate with Design, Projects, Procurement, Finance, Legal, HR, IT, Marketing and Retail teams.
• Track project milestones and store-opening timelines.
• Coordinate pre-opening requirements.
• Ensure timely resolution of property-related issues.
• Support the team until the store is operational.

Key Cities / Markets

The candidate will be expected to explore opportunities across major and emerging markets including:

Karnataka: Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi and other priority markets

Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Salem and other priority markets

Telangana: Hyderabad and emerging markets

Andhra Pradesh: Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and other priority markets

Kerala: Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Thrissur and other priority markets

The actual market priorities will be driven by Keemti's expansion strategy.

Candidate Profile

• Experience: 3–6 years in retail expansion, retail real estate, business development, leasing or property acquisition.
• Experience in jewellery, fashion, luxury retail, premium retail, FMCG or consumer brands will be preferred.
• Strong understanding of the South Indian retail market.
• Existing network with landlords, developers, mall operators and property consultants will be an advantage.
• Strong negotiation and relationship-management skills.
• Strong analytical and commercial understanding.
• Good knowledge of MS Excel / Google Sheets and PowerPoint.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel extensively across South India.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple locations simultaneously.
• Strong ownership and execution mindset.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate should be a hands-on retail expansion professional with strong local market knowledge and an established network across South India.

Someone who can independently travel to a city, understand the market, identify the right catchment, find the right property, engage with the landlord, evaluate the commercial viability and bring the opportunity to management for closure.

This is a high-ownership role for someone who wants to be part of building Keemti's South India retail footprint from the ground up.