Akshaya Tritiya, which has emerged as the second-biggest gold-buying festival after Dhanteras, didn’t disappoint jewellers, but neither were they overjoyed. In terms of value, average sales across the country rose by 25%, but in volume, sales could not surpass last year’s figures – in fact, they dropped by almost half. Shanoo Bijlani and Erum Ali Qureshi report.

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kshaya Tritiya that fell on April 24 this year was an average fare. Thankfully, it didn’t lose its sparkle despite the recent unrest in

the industry. The proposed doubling of the gold import customs duty to 4%, the imposition of 1% excise duty followed by the three-week jewellers’ strike may all have been contributing factors to the outcome.

Despite the local price of gold having risen by almost R7,000 since last Akshaya Tritiya, sales across India were not disappointing. Prithviraj Kothari, president of the Bombay Bullion Association, informed that Akshaya Tritiya sales this year dipped by 40-50% to 10-15 tonnes, as compared with 20-25 tonnes sold last year. Bucking the national trend, Andhra Pradesh registered a high demand for gold jewellery, he observed, adding, “Of the total gold sold this time, 70% constituted jewellery sales and 30% was sold by way of bars and gold coins.”

Not just jewellers but several other players such as the state-run bullion giant MMTC, the stock exchanges and the Department of Posts undertook activities

to boost sales on Akshaya Tritiya. The MMTC held a gold festival in the capital and the Department of Posts offered a 6% discount on purchase of gold coins from its select outlets. On that day, both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange allowed trading till 8pm in gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and waived the transaction charges for all trade done in gold ETF securities. The National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) announced special offers on e-gold, e-silver and e-platinum that included zero transaction charges and a waiver on making and packaging charges on physical conversion of the precious metal contracts.

While some people attributed low sales figures to the fact that the jewellers’ agitation influenced consumer sentiments, many are of the contrary opinion.

Chintamani Kaigaonkar, managing director, Chintamani’s said, “I feel that because of the jewellers’ agitation during Gudi Padwa, an important jewellery sales driver in western region of the country, a lot of customers would have delayed buying jewellery on that auspicious day in Maharashtra and bought gold on Akshaya Tritiya instead.”

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kshaya Tritiya that fell on April 24 this year was an average fare. Thankfully, it didn’t lose its sparkle despite

to boost sales on Akshaya Tritiya. The MMTC held a gold festival in the capital and the Department of Posts offered a 6% discount on purchase of gold coins from its select outlets. On that day, both the A

Despite the local price of gold having risen by almost L7,000 since last Akshaya Tritiya, sales across India were not disappointing.”

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Gold shines onGold jewellery remained the mainstay of Akshaya Tritiya sales like always, since Indian consumers intrinsically link the yellow metal to prosperity.

Chintamani said that sales were very good at his Mumbai store this year; the figures went up by almost 15-20%. “Of this 45% accounted for jewellery and the rest was sold by way of coins and bullion. Overall, the volume of gold jewellery sold was higher than that of diamond jewellery. The average price point of plain gold jewellery was R30, 000,” he informed.

Manish Ashtekar, owner of Pandit Waman Ashtekar Jewellers, Pune, reported a sales hike of nearly 25-30% over last year. “The gold rate increased by R100-150 on that day but it did not affect our sales,” he said. “Of the three categories – gold coins, diamond-studded jewellery and plain gold jewellery – coins made up for only 5% of total sales, studded jewellery accounted for 15% and plain gold emerged as the most popular category, accounting for almost 80% of our sales. The designs that enjoyed popularity were fancy Kolkata work and traditional Maharashtrian jewellery.

Popular price points were R100,000 to R300,000, while surprisingly, smaller items proved to be less in demand,” he added.

It must be noted that earlier, Akshaya Tritiya as a jewellery-buying occasion was popular only in certain pockets of India. Thanks to the aggressive marketing role played by the industry, the fever of buying gold as a symbolic token of prosperity caught the fancy of the entire nation.

“Until a couple of years ago, Akshaya Tritiya was not very popular in Gujarat,” observed Shantibhai Patel, president of Jewellers Association Ahmedabad, and GJEPC regional director. “But extensive promotions and media coverage have converted this festival as a major gold-buying occasion along with Dhanteras and Diwali.”

Patel reported a 10-15% jump in sales over last year. Jewellery constituted 70% of the overall sales and the rest was in terms of gold medallions mostly in the 5-10 grams range. In the jewellery category, Patel reported a marked differentiation in the purchase patterns of consumers. “There were those who bought sets in the 100-200 grams range for marriage purposes, and some bought smaller items consisting of chains, mangalsutras, rings and bracelets in various price ranges,” he added.

In the eastern region, jewellery sales also rose by 15% in volume and 40% in value, informed Bachchraj Bamalwa, chairman of the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF). “Akshaya Tritiya sales were very good in this part of the country. Jewellery, particularly plain gold jewellery featuring Kolkata workmanship, was more in demand making up almost 70% of the total share of jewellery sold on the day. Coins made up 30% of sales; some made token purchases, while others went for big-ticket items like 50-100 gram coins.” At his own showroom, Nemichand Bamalwa & Sons, he noted that large diamond studded and plain gold jewellery sets between R2 lakh and R5 lakh sold well,” he said.

Aerens Gold Souk, the jewellery mall in Gurgaon, reported footfalls in excess of 10,000 on Akshaya Tritiya. Ashish Gupta, vice chairman and managing director,

Extensive promotions and media coverage have converted this festival as a major gold-buying occasion along with Dhanteras and Diwali.”

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Aerens Gold Souk Group, informed, “On some occasions, the price of gold becomes irrelevant, and in our experience people tend to make big-ticket purchases on Akshaya Tritiya owing to its auspiciousness. This year, too, in spite of an increase in the gold rate on Akshaya Tritiya, jewellery showrooms at Gold Souk could be seen vying with one another in offering gold coins, gold bars and the latest designs to buyers. Going by the brisk sales jewellers did after a three-week strike, they reported a growth of 20-30% as compared to last year.”

Amit Bumb, director, Avenue Montaigne, a multi-brand store in Aerens Gold Souk, said, “This year our sales increased by 20% although we expected a 30-35% growth. We saw a 20% increase in pre-bookings this time as compared to last year. Jewellery in the R25,000 bracket was in demand.”

Jewellery designer Monica Kapur said she saw a growth of 15% in sales this year at her store in Aerens Gold Souk. “We offered a 10% discount on making charges of gold jewellery and a 15% discount on diamond jewellery,” she added. Kapoor, who introduced pre-booking to customers this

year, said it accounted for 25% of sales.Soumen Mallik, chief executive officer,

B.C. Sen Jewellers who has an outlet at Aerens Gold Souk, Gurgaon saw a 60% increase in pre-booking offers on Akshaya Tritiya. The company unveiled a new product line called ‘Everlites’ that featured lightweight pendants and earrings. “We also sold gold coins in denominations of 1 gm, 5 gm and 10 gm, while gold bars weighing 10 gm and 100 gm were popular.”

Diamonds sparkleAlthough gold jewellery has been the front-runner on festive occasions, diamond studded jewellery held its own in a market burgeoning with aspirational and lifestyle changes. Chintamani acknowledged that every year, sales of diamond jewellery have been increasing. “Diamond jewellery sales were up by 15% as compared to last year. The average price point for jewellery sold in this category was R50, 000,” he added.

Dilip Lagu, managing director of Lagu Bandhu Motiwale, saw an increase of 20-25% in value over last year. “We specialise in studded jewellery and our focus is not much on coins or even plain

Although gold jewellery has been the front-runner on festive occasions, diamond studded jewellery held its own in a market burgeoning with aspirational and lifestyle changes.”

Soumen Mallik, chief executive officer,

increase in pre-booking offers on Akshaya

product line called ‘Everlites’ that featured

also sold gold coins in denominations of

weighing 10 gm and 100 gm were popular.”

front-runner on festive occasions, diamond studded jewellery held its own in a market burgeoning with aspirational and lifestyle changes. Chintamani acknowledged that every year, sales of diamond jewellery have been increasing. “Diamond jewellery sales

The average price point for jewellery sold in

weighing 10 gm and 100 gm were popular.”

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Actress Raima Sen graces the MMTC’s Festival of Gold, a five-day jewellery exhibition-cum-sale, during Akshaya Tritiya.

gold jewellery. We saw good demand for diamond-studded jewellery and pearl and coral jewellery. The popular price points were between R30,000 and R40,000,” he informed.

In Gujarat, Shantibhai Patel noted that minakari and jadau pieces enjoyed more popularity than plain gold jewellery.

Gautam Gulati, chief operating officer, KIAH Diamond Jewellery too enthused that pre-bookings were almost double those of last year. Also, the launch of a new collection of solitaires helped drive sales on Akshaya Tritiya

Well-preparedVimalbhai of Jetha Bhai Zaveri, New Delhi, said that the steady gold price was a comforting factor that helped boost sales. “We saw a growth of 10-15% in volume. Diamond jewellery sales saw an upswing during Akshaya Tritiya this year.” Being well-prepared is one of the key factors to drive sales. Jetha Bhai Zaveri introduced new collections in platinum, diamond and gold

jewellery. Lightweight platinum jewellery did well. In gold, both light and heavy jewellery sold well, he said.

The jeweller offered ‘Loyalty Bonuses’ to clients who purchased jewellery at the store during the festive period. These selected clients will now be eligible for special prices on other jewellery purchases till March 2013.

Kama Schachter, which recently launched a retail brand, came up with the idea to have an ‘Eternal Luck with Kama’ promotion for Akshaya Tritiya. “This was to begin a new relationship with our customers by offering something sweet, a common Indian custom. Customers were offered cupcakes, in which prizes were hidden. They had to try their luck by eating the cupcake to find out what was in store for them,” said Colin Shah, managing director and chief executive of Kama Schachter.

“We had planned some activities prior to Akshaya Tritiya to create awareness about the store as well as the event. There was a host who held activities at selected

Kama Schachter, which recently launched a retail brand, came up with the idea to have an ‘Eternal Luck with Kama’ promotion for Akshaya Tritiya.”

Well-preparedVimalbhai of Jetha Bhai Zaveri, New Delhi, said that the steady gold price was a comforting factor that helped boost sales. “We saw a growth of 10-15% in volume. Diamond jewellery sales saw an upswing during Akshaya Tritiya this year.” Being well-

an ‘Eternal Luck with Kama’ promotion for Akshaya Tritiya.”

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A family buying gold coins at Gold Souk mall in Gurgaon.

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residential complexes, where the residents were involved in quizzes and games. Invitations to the store for the ‘Cupcake’ event were given to participants as well as the audience. Besides, we distributed direct mailers to about 15,000 residents in the vicinity of our store,” Shah said.

Kama Jewellery has diamond-studded jewellery in yellow, white, pink gold and platinum priced between R10,000 and R100,000. Prizes worth R50,000 were won at the event, including a diamond ring, pendants and gold coins. “The promotion was successful and saw a good number of customers visiting the store. We also recorded a considerable increase in the sales number and achieved our targets with individual billings ranging between R25,000 and R300,000.

Platinum scoresThe overall increase in platinum jewellery sales was average across India this year. Platinum coins between 2 and 4 grams sold really well. About 10-15% of coins were

sold in comparison to platinum jewellery. Anantha Padmanabhan, managing

director of NAC Jewellers, Chennai, noted a 50% growth in platinum sales over last year. Padmanabhan observed that a number of consumers were opting for platinum jewellery on this festive day. They picked up platinum rings, chains and pendants. Last year, consumers were restricted to buying platinum rings and navaratna pendants. NAC introduced a range of light-weight platinum jewellery this year. Besides, it also unveiled an exclusive Akshaya Pathram in platinum with Latha Rajnikant (actor Rajanikanth’s wife) blessing her daughter with it. Customers could place an order for the Akshaya Pathram, starting from 9 to 10 grams of platinum.

Suvankar Sen, managing director of Senco Gold, Kolkata, informed, “Platinum enquiries have grown considerably this year with consumers asking for platinum coins and jewellery specifically on this day. Most of our platinum coins were sold out. We have witnessed a growth of 30%

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Latha Rajnikanth (centre) blesses her daughter Aishwarya with a platinum Akshaya Pathram, as NAC Jewellers’ Anantha Padmanabhan looks on.

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in platinum over last year. However the growth in gold was marginal.”

For the first time, Senco Gold presented lightweight platinum jewellery and platinum Mahalamxi Yantra medallions in various denominations from 1 gram onwards.

Paresh Soni, managing director of C.H. Jeweller, Baroda, agreed that demand for platinum has been on an upward trend since the last two years. “We witnessed approximately 40% growth in platinum on this day as compared with last year. The popular price band for platinum jewellery was between R25,000 and R45,000 for items such as rings and pendant sets.”

Akshaya Tritiya came amid a tumultuous period for the jewellery industry, which has been battling with tax issues. Consumers reposed their faith in all types of jewellery on this occasion, thereby bringing some cheer to the jewellers across the country. Although sales may not have been in accordance with expectations, the fact that consumers did not write off the festival’s significance as an auspicious day for buying jewellery, raised jewellers’ spirits.

Akshaya Tritiya came amid a tumultuous period for the jewellery industry, which has been battling with tax issues. Consumers reposed their faith in all types of jewellery on this occasion, thereby bringing some cheer to the jewellers across the country.”

Customers trying their luck, biting into cupcakes bearing hidden gifts, at the Kama Jewellery store.

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Former Miss India Ankita Shorey inaugurates Gitanjali’s jewellery vending machine at the famous Shree Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai on Akshaya Tritiya.

COVERSTORY

Sandeep Kulhalli, vice president – retail and marketing, Tanishq

How much did jewellery sales grow (in volume and value terms) during Akshaya Tritiya this year? Akshaya Tritiya is the most auspicious day for jewellery buying. Given the typical consumer behaviour towards purchasing gold, our expectations were buoyant and high from the festive offer of

Akshaya Tritiya, and it showed a positive sign in terms of sales. This year we achieved around 25% growth rate on the auspicious occasion as compared to last year.

Did you witness strong diamond jewellery sales?Yes. In fact, this is one interesting trend that we have mapped. On the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya this year there was an increased sale of diamond jewellery as compared to previous years. It is important to offer a number of options to consumers. The Affordable Diamonds offer that we have bears testimony to this. Diamond jewellery priced between H10,000 and H25,000 ensures that everyone can now own them.

Did you introduce new collections for the occasion?

Joy Alukkas, chairman, Joyalukkas Group

We usually expect sales on an auspicious day like Akshaya Tritiya to be three times more than a normal day’s sale. This year we managed to maintain the benchmark and expectations in spite of the high gold prices and various other reasons that were expected to affect sales of jewellery.

The reason behind good sales is the strong tradition,

auspiciousness and culture of buying jewellery on this auspicious day. Hence, even though gold prices are currently high, we still managed to grow our sales from last year during this period. People in India buy jewellery both as an investment and for adornment hence the allure of jewellery will always remain strong in our culture.

We have seen a steady growth in sales year-on-year on this day, and this year we registered a 20% growth as compared to last year during Akshaya Tritiya. As expected, the average price point of gold jewellery that did well was between H40,000 and H50,000. Like every year we

No, we did not introduce any collection specific to Akshaya Tritiya.

What were the special discount schemes launched to attract buyers?The Akshaya Tritiya offer this year was attractive and truly a first of its kind. On purchase of every 8 grams of gold jewellery, customers were given a free 22 karat gold coin. Same was true for diamond jewellery worth H8,000 and multiples thereof. Second, we offered flat 10% off on purchase of diamond jewellery worth H2 lakh and above. Customers were entitled to avail any one of the two above-mentioned offers.

Did stable gold rates play a part in boosting sales on that day?On an auspicious occasion like Akshaya Tritiya, sales were bound to be on the higher side. Also, the mood was upbeat post the strike due to the upcoming wedding season. Gold prices too had been relatively stable for the last few weeks – all these factors ensured that we were in good stead this time.

Did light and heavy gold jewellery sell equally well? What was the average ticket price of popular items that did well?There was a steady demand for lightweight jewellery and the Mia collection targeting the working woman fared well on this front. Being the wedding season, heavy jewellery, too, had its usual share of customers.

did introduce a huge range of generic gold and diamond collections and added more lines under our renowned brands. We primarily focused on bridal and daily wear designs to meet the needs of customers.

The response for our gold and diamond jewellery was tremendous. As for platinum, it is a category that appeals to a niche consumer segment. Though the demand for platinum is not as strong as gold and diamond jewellery, we are still seeing a steady growth in platinum jewellery sales across our 30 showrooms in India. We expect this growth trend to continue also because platinum as a class of jewellery is being heavily promoted all over India.

It was not very common among retailers in the southern region to engage in any major promotional activities or offer discounts for Akshaya Tritiya. But from the time when we at Joyalukkas started pre-booking offers some five or six years ago, we are happy to say that all our competitors have started emulating us. We also present free gold coins on jewellery purchases on the auspicious day since gold is considered as Lakshmi and a symbol of luck in India.

Just before the day of Akshaya Tritiya, the gold price in Kerala and Tamil Nadu was H2,665 and H2,689 respectively. On that day, it went up marginally to R2,680 and H2,717. In spite of this high fluctuation, we achieved our expectation. However, it would have been better if the price had reduced or remained steady. n

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