India's gems and jewellery exports fell by 11.49% in October, reaching Rs 22,873.19 crore. Cut and Polished Diamonds exports fell by 32.70% to Rs 10,495.06 crore, while polished Lab Grown Diamonds exports dropped by 23.01% to Rs 1,135.16 crore. The decline was mainly due to a slowdown in demand in key markets and supply constraints of diamonds.
This year, jewellery retailers are also observing an increasing trend of online bookings for gold purchases on Dhanteras, driven by the desire to leverage rising gold prices and the flexibility of securing purchases ahead of time.
Releasing the quarterly gold demand report, the World Gold Council (WGC) said India's gold demand increased to 210.2 tonnes during the third quarter of 2023 calendar year, from 191.7 tonnes in the year-ago period. Trade feedback is that consumers have accepted the Rs 60,000 per ten-gram price point, so a downward correction could trigger a significant jump in demand. Dhanteras is considered the most auspicious day in the Hindu calendar for buying items ranging from precious metals to utensils, to other valuables.
Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers, a century-old jewellery retailer, has entered the US market with the opening of a store in Dallas. The company plans to open three more stores in the US and eight in Tamil Nadu over the next three years. With the US expansion, the jeweller aims to generate $100 million in revenue annually, with at least 30% contributing to overall business in the next three years.
Gold prices, which stood at ₹57,415 per 10 gm before the attacks by Hamas, have shot up to ₹60,612 in the past fortnight. "The upward trend has been visible since the month of Shraadh," said Saurabh Gadgil, managing director of PNG Jewellers.
Hallmarking has become mandatory for gold jewellery from June 16, 2021. The government introduced new symbols for hallmarked gold jewellery. However, as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), certain types of gold jewellery are exempted from mandatory hallmarking orders. Read on to know which types of gold jewellery are exempted from hallmarking order.
Commenting on the need for rapid fundraising, Kushwaha said, “Our business nature is such that we need to invest in inventory, for which, we need capital. The funds are mainly for balance sheet requirements…not for burning.”
Talking to ETRetail, Joy Alukkas, Chairman and MD, Joyalukkas India said that the jewellery chain is eyeing a 20 per cent YoY growth in its revenue. He added that the company aims to increase its revenue to Rs 17,500 crore from Rs 14,513 crore in FY23. The retailer is eyeing a profit after tax of Rs 1,100 crore this fiscal.
As much as 70% of Tanishq's 436 stores are outside large cities - 38% in places with 200,000-plus population and 32% in smaller towns - with the remaining 30% in metros and mini-metros, chief executive Ajoy Chawla said. Some of these are located in places such as Kudal in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, Bhawanipatna and Angul in Odisha, and Mirzapur and Balia in Uttar Pradesh.
All members have also committed to joining the Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) platform and supply, on a confidential basis, “core data” on the gold they have produced to their refining partners. This ensures gold enters the Gold Bar Integrity platform “at source” and is a major step in the digitalisation of gold across the supply chain.
Though the price of gold is on the higher side at Rs 59,000 per 10 gm compared to Rs 50,880 per 10 gm this time last year, sales would have been good had there not been a rally in the stock market, said Surendra Mehta, national secretary, Indian Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA).
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