New Delhi: Jewellery retailers reported modest YoY growth in sales during Dhanteras, which is the most promising and in-demand period of the year. The slowdown comes due to inflation, fluctuating gold prices, and unseasonal rains on the day of Dhanteras.
Pre-Dhanteras, jewellers shared a cautiously optimistic sentiment for the festive sales. Last year, gold sales during Dhanteras rose 35 per cent.
Suvankar Sen, MD & CEO, Senco Gold & Diamonds in a media statement said, “Due to the higher gold price and recent fluctuations in its prices, volume growth has been in low single digits, while value growth has been in low double digits.” He added that the company reported an overall growth of 10-12 per cent in terms of value on the back of an overall positive consumer sentiment despite high prices and global uncertainty.
Expressing caution, Joy Alukkas, MD, Joyalukkas said “Inflation does tend to act as a deterrent to luxury purchases as consumers frequently opt to reduce their jewellery budgets.”
He added, “This cautious approach is a response to the financial constraints imposed by inflation and consumers are naturally inclined to buy less or opt for more affordable options. This can dampen the demand for jewellery, even during festive periods.”
However, he further highlighted that in 2023, the Indian middle class demonstrated a substantial appetite for gold by consuming 39 tonnes, a 5 per cent increase over 2022, during the Diwali-Dhanteras season.
Ramesh Kalyanaraman, ED, Kalyan Jewellers stated that consistent consumer interest led to resilient demand with a positive sales outlook. The company said that it witnessed an uptick across geographies in footfalls and revenue.
Kalyanaraman said that while unexpected rainfall in certain markets muted the demand, the extended muhurat timing helped the buying trend continue well into the weekend.
This year, the gold-buying muhurat spanned over two days starting from 2 PM on November 10 to 5 PM on November 11.
Responding to the impact of high gold prices and inflation on consumer demand, Sudeep Nagar, co-founder and COO, Bluestone said that the retailers witnessed no ‘significant impact’ on its sales. He further claimed that in the week leading up to Dhanteras, Bluestone experienced an uptick of 40 per cent in consumer demand over last year.
Diamond retail brand De Beers Forevermark also said that it saw a ‘substantial surge’ in Dhanteras shopping with an increase in demand for minimalistic and everyday wear jewellery. While Amit Pratihari, VP, De Beers Forevermark took note of the impact of high inflation on consumer’s purchasing power of consumers, he said that the demand for diamond jewellery has not been significantly hampered. He stated that the retailer is expecting a double-digit growth this year.
