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GOLD PRICE RECORD RUN PUSHES INDIAN JEWELLERS TO OFFER DIAMOND IN LOWER CARTAGE YELLOW METAL
(ICE) – ROMA, 19 APR – The surge in gold prices over the last six weeks has pushed up the price of diamond- jewellery in India and crimped its demand. To bring down the rates and get customers back to buying, several jewellers have started using lower cartage yellow metal in their pieces.
In place of 18-carat gold, stores are now introducing diamond jewellery in 14-carat gold, hoping to keep prices in check for their aspirational customers. A similar shift is visible in the plain gold jewellery category, with many consumers now enquiring about 18-carat jewellery instead of 22-carat ones.
In the last one month, gold prices in India have shot up by 10.6%. On Thursday, it was Rs 73,333 per 10 gm in the retail market.
“Rising prices of the yellow metal have impacted the domestic demand for diamond jewellery,” said Kirit Bhansali, vice-chairman of Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council. “The diamond market was showing an upward trajectory till February. But as the price of the yellow metal started moving up, the domestic market went on a slow mode, resulting in demand plummeting by 15% in the last one-and-a-half months compared to January and February.”
To woo customers back, jewellers are now looking at 14-carat diamond jewellery. Kalyan Jewellers, a listed jewellery firm from south India, has started keeping 14-carat diamond jewellery. This is despite its lifestyle brand Candere selling 14-carat jewellery separately. It is also increasing its gold ornament offerings in 18-carat. Since the company is in a silent period, the top management of the company refused to comment on the development.
“Due to the gold price rise, consumers are buying gold jewellery for the purpose of investment and to hedge inflation and impact of further rise in gold price. There is a short-term dip in diamond jewellery demand in a few markets in India due to the safe haven status of gold,” said MP Ahammed, chairman of Malabar Group. “In fact, due to the rise in the gold price, there is an emerging trend among the jewellers to opt for 14 carat gold instead of 18 carat gold to craft diamond studded jewellery.
According to Ahammed, 14-carat gold jewellery is more durable than 18-carat gold and can withstand the wear and tear of everyday wear. “We are strengthening the 14 carat gold diamond studded jewellery inventory at our stores to meet the demand,” he said.
Suvankar Sen, managing director & CEO of listed jewellery firm Senco Gold & Diamonds, said, “There has been a drop in diamond demand in March-April since footfalls have been affected due to a surge in the gold price. We have already introduced 14-carat diamond jewellery at our showrooms.”
While the gold content in 18-carat gold is 75%, it is 58% for 14-carat jewellery.
“There is a 17% difference between the two, which reduces the price of the diamond jewellery and is affordable to Indian consumers, who have an aspiration to a diamond piece which is pocket-friendly,” said Aditya Pethe, partner of Mumbai-based WHP Jewellers. Pethe said discussions are ongoing in the jewellery industry to introduce more 14-carat pieces.
Surendra Mehta, national secretary of India Bullion & Jewellers Association (IBJA), said, “A lot of innovation is happening in gold and diamond jewellery since the price of gold is moving up. In our country, only 14, 18 and 22-carat jewellery can be hallmarked. So there is no harm in buying 14-carat jewellery.”
Manufacturers and wholesalers of plain gold jewellery said they are flooded with calls from jewellers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab for 18-carat jewellery.
“In the last one month we have received huge enquiries for 18-carat jewellery from these states,” said Saiyam Mehra, owner of Mumbai-based Unique Chains, a leading gold jewellery manufacturer.
Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com//industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/-jewellery/gold-price-record-run-pushes-indian-jewellers-to-offer-diamond-in-lower-cartage-yellow-metal/articleshow/109419902.cms? (ICE MUMBAI)
JEWELLERY CHAINS TAKE A SHINE TO MALLS AS BUYERS GO FOR BRANDS
(ICE) – ROMA, 17 APR – The glittering storefronts of jewellery shops are fast becoming a prominent feature in shopping malls in India underscoring a shift in consumer preference towards established retailers.
Each mall currently has about 8-10 jewellery stores, up from just one or two in 2021. These stores now occupy nearly 5% of total mall space, up from just 1% two years ago, said five leading mall operators running more than two dozen malls across the country.
With many buyers shifting from smaller jewellers, the organised jewellery retail segment has been outpacing other consumer discretionary segments since April 2023. This is evident in the jewellery segment contributing 15-20% of mall revenues despite occupying only about 5% space.
While brands under the Tata group such as Tanishq are continuing to grow their shopping mall footprint, Reliance Jewels, Kalyan Jewellers, Malabar Gold & Jewels and Joyalukkas are also opening new stores. Aditya Birla Group has also announced a Rs 5,000 crore investment to enter this growing segment.
“In our malls, the share of jewellery stores has gone up to 4-5%. Most of the stores continue to do well and bring decent footfall to the malls,” said Pushpa Bector, senior executive director at DLF Retail, which runs premium malls in the Delhi-National Capital Region.
Some malls are now expecting the share of jewellery stores to reach as much as 8-9% in near future as new brands scout for space.
Suvankar Sen, managing director and CEO of Senco Gold & Diamonds, a listed jewellery firm said, “We have opened stores in malls to increase visibility of our brand and to acquire new young customers.”
“Even though gold price is surging ahead, we are optimistic to expand our store footprint to grow our business in the long term,” said Sen.
Senco had negligible mall presence in FY23 but in the year after, the jeweller opened a store each in Elantra Mall (Chandigarh), Mall of Asia (Bengaluru), Phoenix Mall (Indore) and Phoenix Wakad Mall (Pune). These stores range between 2,103 sq ft to 3,090 sq ft.
Candere, the lifestyle brand from the Kalyan Jewellers, has a presence in Infinity Mall in Andheri-Mumbai, and in Lulu Mall, Bengaluru. Overall, Kalyan Jewellers has close to 20,000 sq feet of mall space across India. Candere is looking to focus more on malls and plans to open 50 outlets this financial year.
“Earlier, it used to be one or two stores, but jewellery has emerged as a separate category, and now we have to create a separate zone for them. Last year was tough for apparel stores but jewellery continues to bring footfall and revenue,” said Ravinder Choudhary, Vice President-Vegas & Unity Group, which operates half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab.
With real estate accounting for only 1-2% of the cost of opening a new store, jewellers are seizing the opportunity to expand by ramping up advertising and marketing spends.
ICICI Securities has forecast 29% compound annual growth rate in standalone jewellery sales for Kalyan Jewellers and 20% for Titan over FY24–26 with both continuing to report strong demand in the March quarter. Kalyan’s India jewellery revenue grew 38% year-on-year while Titan clocked 19% growth in domestic jewellery revenue growth in the quarter.
“Jewellery segment has undergone significant changes post Covid and for daily wear, shoppers prefer malls. Though high-ticket purchases continue to happen in the high street, the segment is getting organised and mall operators are also ready to give large space to jewellery,” said Muhammad Ali, CEO, retail, Prestige Group.
The flurry of new jewellery store openings is despite a sharp rally in gold prices as buyers rush for safe-haven assets amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East……
Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-cstruction/jewellery-chains-take-a-shine-to-malls-as-buyers-go-for-brands/articleshow/109322778.cms (ICE MUMBAI)
PAKISTAN: SAUDI ARABIA INVESTS IN THE MINING SECTOR
(ICE) – ROMA, 17 APR – Saudi Arabia is set to inject $1 billion into a mining project in Pakistan. The investment is anticipated to take place next month, pending the clearance of any hurdles by the Special Investment Facilitation Council in Pakistan.
To ensure a seamless process for Saudi Arabia’s investment, the Prime Minister will establish a dedicated committee within the Ministry of Finance that will encompass all relevant stakeholders from Pakistan.
The Reko Diq Copper-Gold Project is nestled in the scenic Chagai District of Balochistan Province. Following this significant investment, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are expected to ink agreements aimed at strengthening investment within the mining sector. (ICE ISLAMABAD)
KOREA LEADS GLOBAL ONLINE SHOPPING TREND FOR USED LUXURY GOODS
(ICE) – ROMA, 15 APR – South Koreans are leading the trend of buying luxury goods online with top-end products such as Rolex watches and Hermes bags among the hottest items on Gugus, the country’s largest online platform for secondhand luxury goods.
According to Euromonitor, a research company, South Korea has the highest penetration of online purchases of luxury goods globally.
In its “2023 Voice of the Industry” survey conducted last year on about 25,000 consumers worldwide, the proportion of South Korean consumers who responded that they use online channels when purchasing used products reached 57.5%.
Turkey (56.4%), China (53.1%), Germany (51.4%) and Spain (50.7%) came next.
The rise in online transactions for used high-end items reflects the desire of millennials and Gen Z, those born between the 1980s and the early 2000s, who want to own luxury goods at relatively reasonable prices.
Gugus saw transactions on its platform jumping 16% to 62.4 billion won ($46 million) in the first quarter of this year, its highest-ever for a single quarter, compared to the year-earlier period. Clothes and jewelry led the sales growth, up 24% and 38%, respectively.
Particularly, transactions of Rolex watches climbed 31% on-year, with sales of Hermes products up 21%.
“With a wide assortment of top-end brand products such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel ranging from clothing to shoes and accessories, we were able to differentiate ourselves from other platforms,” said a Gugus official.
It is also expanding its offline footprint to attract luxury goods buyers who want to personally look over the items before purchasing. This month, it opened its 26th offline store. (ICE SEOUL)
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