Jewellery retailers upbeat as sales improve

“India’s Jan-Mar 2021 gold demand rose 37% to 140 tonne on the back of Covid containment and positive sentiment following start of the vaccination programme. It presented a glimpse of gold’s underlying strength of resurgence when we learn to live with Covid,” he said.

Jewellery retailers are upbeat about prospects in the second half of the year with sales in April and May seen better compared to same period last year. Traders also expect mandatory hallmarking to increase the share of organised business.

Ahammed MP, chairman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, has a robust outlook for the fiscal banking on expectations of a strong economic recovery. “Sales were impacted between the last week of April and May. However, with the gradual reopening while adhering to the restrictions and health advisories, sales in certain regions witnessed improvement in June. In Q1FY22, sales have grown by 93% compared to the sales in Q1FY21.”

“With the government and healthcare experts putting in place various measures, we are positive that the expected third wave may not impact us as badly as the second one did. We have seen over 100-plus days of control in the number of Covid cases, and because of this we are now seeing customers visiting shops. If this situations remains stable and continues, we are positive about the rest of the fiscal year,” Joy Alukkas, chairman and managing director of the Joyalukkas group, said.

Kalyan Jewellers has reported that its overall revenue achievement in India for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 was around 55% of Q1FY20, while it was around 190% when compared to Q1FY21.

However, Somasundaram PR, regional CEO, India, World Gold Council, feels that a lot could depend on how concerns surrounding virus mutations are managed globally. “On the back of increased vaccine adoption and optimism, it is also entirely possible that we may see signs of revival and gradual resumption to normalcy starting with the Diwali season and into FY2022,” he said.

“India’s Jan-Mar 2021 gold demand rose 37% to 140 tonne on the back of Covid containment and positive sentiment following start of the vaccination programme. It presented a glimpse of gold’s underlying strength of resurgence when we learn to live with Covid,” he said.

Somasundaram feels that the gold industry in India is at the cusp of transformation, as transparency, standards and infrastructure begin to define the next phase of reforms. “Mandatory hallmarking is a step in the right direction. Our ambition is to increase exports acting as the ‘jeweller to the world’. It cannot be achieved by having a dichotomous approach – one for export markets observing stringent hallmarking standards and the other one for the domestic market with flexibility not to hallmark.”