Diamond jewellery maker Gitanjali group plans to open more than 450 retail outlets in India as well as in the US, China and West Asia this year and set up two Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Maharashtra.

The Rs 4,500-crore company already has 1,500 sales points in the country to which around 100 more will be added this year. This will also include exclusive showrooms for diamond jewellery brands such as Nakshatra, D'Dmas and Asmi, said Mehul Choksi, managing director of Gitanjali group.

To the 150 existing outlets in the US, another 350 will be added. “In the US, we plan to grow both organically as well as inorganically,” he told Financial Chronicle.

Gitanjali is in the process of acquiring US-based retail chain White Hall Jewellery Holdings, which is a $350-million company, that has 370 stores in that country.

“We will take the total number of outlets in China to 70 from the existing 30 and will also increase the number of stores in West Asia from 50,” Choski said.

Gitanjali has also identified 50 acres at Panvel and 300 acres at Nashik in Maharashtra for setting up the SEZs.

The jewellery group has already initiated steps to set up another SEZ at Shamsabad near Hyderabad. A total of 40 million sq ft has been acquired for the SEZ, of which a section is expected to be operational with production underway this year.

“For the expansion plans within the country, we will spend $50 million this year and another $50 million for the overseas initiatives,” Choksi added.

Gitanjali hopes to become a $2 billion company within two years. The group, which also has a luxury and lifestyle segment to sell premium products such as watches and fashion accessories, will open exclusive stores this year in Jalandhar, Gurgaon and Faridabad.