Business will reach around 60-65% till March 2021

How do you feel about being honored for the ET award?

It is an honour to get such a prestigious award and we are very happy about it. It has given a lot of energy to work more and more for the industry as well as for the society. It’s all because we always believe in innovation, quality, reliability and the main thing we always try to enhance the brand equity of our customers by supporting them in 360 dimensions. This kind of award always gives a boon, support and motivation to all businessmen to work more for the industry.

How do you see the market from Navratri onwards?

I think after 8 months Indian market is picking up and I am very happy to tell you that market is in a very good phase. Previously, only lightweight jewellery was selling throughout the market but now it has gone up to medium weight jewellery. In terms of price, previously, up to Rs 2 lakhs jewellery were selling but now people are buying up to Rs 4 lakhs. The footfalls have increased a lot and maximum customers are coming for the upcoming marriage season. We are very happy that people have accepted the Rs 50000 gold rate which is now a base rate. It is expected that the gold rates will further to Rs 55000 and 60000 so they are coming in good numbers to buy jewellery. The customers have a lot of faith in gold and diamonds because that is the only market which has not crashed due to the recent crisis. So, I think the jewellery market will pick up more and from Navratri onwards. The chain stores are going for expansions; they are putting more money in opening new showrooms. All these shows that jewellery market is going very good and next 3 months will be excellent for the industry and post-Diwali the sales will reach the pre-Covid levels.

Which are the collections you launched during IIJS virtual and how was the response?

We participated in IIJS virtual as wells as GJC virtual. We had launched our latest lightweight collection in wedding category. As people have reduced their budgets, we have also reduced the weight of the necklaces and we have got a good response for that. At the same time speaking about the virtual platform, I think it is very new for the industry and people are not familiar with this platform. A lot of people want to go and they are coming and visiting the GJS virtual and IIJS virtual. The business slowly picked during the virtual shows and definitely it will help a lot in the future. Right now I can say that it’s a new normal for the market.

What is the range and carat size of your recently launched lightweight necklace?

The necklaces earrings range from 4 carats to 8 carats. The good thing about it is that they look big in size. So, we have reduced the size from 7-8 carats to 4 carats. Even the chokers which we used to make in 15-16 carats have been reduced to 6-7 carats. And we have got a very good response for it from pan-India customers. Especially from East India we have got a very good response and at the same time, the response was also good from North Indian markers such as Delhi, Agra and Lucknow.

Did you use 18K gold or have you also used 14K?

We have made the designs in both 18K and 14K as per the requirement of the customers. But majority of the customers were asking for 14K jewellery.

How do you see the market till next March 2021?

According to the present situation prevailing in the market, the market will slowly pick up and it will be very good up to February because of the upcoming wedding season and this time we have around 110 muhurats till February. Last year the total numbers of muhurats were only 80. At the same time, many marriages which were scheduled n May and June got postponed so the number of marriages will be more. Right now in each and every state engagements are going on which has raised the demand for solitaire rings in the market. However, if the second wave of Covid comes, then no one knows how the market will behave.

Do you think that we will be able to reach at least 70-80% of the pre-Covid figures by March 2021?

The sales were almost zero in April and May and till Navrati the sales were close to 50%. During Navratri, the market was between 35%-70% and after navratri, the business in the market has reached to 75%. So, I think if the marriage season goes well, then the overall turnover of the businesses on the basis of weight will be around 60-65%, but value wise if we compare then we may even cross the last year’s figure because of the high gold rates.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service