Dhanteras pushes gold jewellery sales upward

The gold jewellery sales in India picked up momentum on the festive occasion of Dhanteras as a sharp correction in the prices of gold in last two months led to higher footfalls in retail jewellery stores.

Apart from gold jewellery, industry participants said that diamond and platinum jewellery have also made a comeback gaining traction among young consumers.

“We had expected a very good demand this season as the gold jewellery business remained subdued during the first two quarters of this year due to a host of factors including the month long jewellers strike and higher gold prices. However, the steep fall in gold prices coincided with the beginning of our festive and wedding season,” Tanya Rastogi, director, Lala Jugal Kishore Jewellers said.

She pointed out that the demand for gold jewellery is higher than gold coins with lot of customers even doing their wedding related purchases. “With the good monsoon expected to boost rural income, we are expecting at least a 20 per cent growth in business this season,” she said.

“We are definitely seeing green shoots in consumer spends. While the run up to Diwali has been slower than anticipated, footfalls today (Friday) have been very good and we expect Dhanteras sales to be higher than last year by 10-15 per cent,” added Vijay Jain, CEO, ORRA Jewellery.

According to the World Gold Council, the pent up demand for gold jewellery is getting reflected in Dhanteras sales. “Consumers who have been deferring gold purchases are back and the demand for gold jewellery and branded coins seems to be much better than in the previous year’s Dhanteras and Diwali festival. Good monsoons and a softening of gold prices have improved the sentiment around this traditional asset class. The wedding season ahead appears promising for the trade and consumers alike,” said Somasundaram PR, MD, India, WGC.