Retailers and jewellery manufacturers have differing views on gold jewellery sales in Coimbatore this festival season.
According to B. Sabarinath, president of Coimbatore Jewellers Association, the sales was good this year in value terms. In terms of volume, the sales is almost the same as last year. “Most of the buyers are those who traditionally buy gold jewellery for Deepavali. Among youngsters too, there is a preference for jewellery from specific age groups,” he said. Consumer priorities were changing with many preferring to spend on travel, food, and gadgets. The sales were expected to increase after Deepavali, he said.
B. Muthuvenkatraman, president of Coimbatore Jewellery Manufacturers Association, said gold prices were $ 1,953 an ounce on Friday. From $ 1,807 an ounce, the price went up to $ 2,006 and had declined to $ 1,953 an ounce. The prices were high mainly because of Israel-Hamas war. Consumers were hesitant to buy jewellery mainly because of the prices. They feared that prices would fall and so sales growth this year compared with last year was flat. Further, gold jewellery sales was usually not high for the festival because consumers spent on food and clothing. “We expect the sales to be good after Deepavali as that is the trend every year,” he said.