Comments
Gold prices may fluctuate, but the country’s love for the yellow metal does not seem to diminish.
The nearly 30 per cent rise in price of the precious metal over the last year has not kept customers away, according to metal major MMTC Ltd.
The company expects its annual exhibition-cum-sale, Festival of Gold, which was inaugurated on November 2, to notch up sales of Rs 50 crore by the close of the event on November 11 – equal to last year.
“Already in three days sales have touched Rs 15 crore,” Rajender Prasad, General Manager of MMTC, said, while adding, “We are getting very good response right through the year.” However, sales peak during the auspicious Akshaya Tritiya and Diwali, he claimed.
He also said that besides being an auspicious occasion for buying yellow metal, the other incentive for buying gold during Diwali is that it precedes the marriage season.
However, there are concerns over the rising gold prices, doubling of import duty on gold and regulations on high-value purchases.
He said, “Gold purchase and imports are not looking very encouraging”. He feared that imports are likely to take a hit.
However, the number of customers thronging the venue of MMTC exhibition gives no indication of any dampening in buyers’ sentiments. But people are preferring light-weight jewellery in order to maintain their budget and also to celebrate Diwali.
Innovations made by jewellers, such as light-weight ornaments and giving customers the option of lower carat gold jewellery are driving sales.
He said that in the recent past jewellers have been offering ornaments with caratage a low as 14 carats, which bring down cost for both the makers and buyers.
The trend of exchanging old jewellery has also picked up steam, which helps cut down prices of new pieces for customers.
“Earlier the trend of old jewellery exchange was at around 15-20 per cent of the retail market. But now, it has almost doubled to 30-40 per cent.”
MMTC, which launched its own gold jewellery brand Sanchi on the first day of the exhibition, is also banking on its retail sales and has big plans of expansion.
Sanchi was earlier a silverware brand.
The company plans to open at least three outlets in Delhi-NCR and plans to set shop in other major cities. It intends to achieve a retail sales target of Rs 800-900 crore this fiscal.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.