UAE gold and jewellery sector will emerge stronger from COVID-19-enforced store closures: Joy Alukkas

Dubai: Around 100 gold and jewellery stores shut down in the UAE this year after the pandemic struck – and that’s not a bad thing, according to the founder of a leading retailer.

“Gold stores were mushrooming all over – and there were retailers who had two or three on the same road,” said Joy Alukkas, Chairman and Managing Director of the network that bears his name. “Our brand too had such locations – it was felt then that this the only way to keep growth happening and the brand name intact.

“But COVID-19 has taught the local gold trade a few lessons… and shedding the over reliance on too many stores was one.”

In recent months, Joyalukkas exited six locations in the UAE and more than a dozen across the Gulf. There are reportedly more than 2,000 gold and jewellery outlets in the country.

Since July, Dubai’s Gold Souq and Meena Bazar – the two hotspots for the city’s gold and jewellery business – have seen quite a few closures as retailers took a closer look at their network needs. Where landlords have provided rent deferments or waivers, however limited, retailers decided to stick on. (During this period, two jewellery retailers from India made an entry, including Tata Group owned Tanishq with its first standalone store in the UAE.)

But all those store closures have hurt the workforce numbers. Among the many retail categories, gold and jewellery had seen the highest number of job losses, sources say. Retailers have tried to absorb or work around their shifts and annual leaves to keep as many on the rolls as possible.