TROPICAL Jewellers is closing its doors after more than 35 years in operation.

The closure comes on the heels of jeweller and real estate investor Gordon Tewani consolidating the operations of Mall Jewellers into Tropical Jewellers back in 2012 when the businessman complained of flat sales at the Tropical Plaza location in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew, which formerly housed the two stores.

In the hope of reducing expenditure and increasing sales, Tewani shuttered the high-end Mall Jewellers store while admitting that there was increasingly little justification for having two jewellery stores on the same block.

Still, the volume of business seemed to have remained stagnant. The company has already started advertising closing-down sales with discounts of up to 60 per cent on jewellery and china. Efforts made to contact Tewani on the closure proved unsuccessful.

While it is not clear when Tropical Jewellers will officially close, a tour of the store by the Jamaica Observer confirmed the downturn in sales despite the company’s discount offerings.

A source has informed the Business Observer that the Pakistani-born businessman is believed to be moving away from the jewellery business. During the closing of Mall Jewellers, Tewani reportedly expressed the view that “Anybody can live without jewellery, but they cannot live without food.”

Currently, Tewani is the owner of the Fairview Shopping Centre in Montego Bay, in addition to Tewani Limited, Gordian Investments Limited and Estate Investments Limited.