Gold glitters most during Diwali

BANGALORE: Price doesn’t seem to be a deterrent when it comes to the pursuit of the yellow metal, especially during Diwali. Thanks to this obsession, the Diwali week alone accounts for more than 4 per cent of the entire year’s revenue in the state. Added to this, industry experts believe that the per capita consumption of gold is about Rs 1 lakh per transaction during this week alone due to the “auspicious” and “culturally entwined sentiments” associated with the festival. While the state accounts for over Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 crore of revenue from gold in a year, the Diwali week alone accounts for Rs 250-300 crore. But the expenditure is not only from the customers’ perspective,as discounts, offers and advertisement expenditure from retailers can go up at least four-fold during this time of the year. “In the case of small jewellers,they already have a personal connect with their clients and will give offers anddiscounts. But in the case of big jewellers, they would advertise at least four times as much during this season,” C Vinod Hayagriv, MD, C Krishniah Chetty and Sons, said. He added that there were about 25 such auspicious days in a year that contribute to about 25-35 per cent of the annual sales. Each ofthese days, which could be Ugadi, Vijaya Dasami, Onam, Navarathiri and even New Year, contributes to nearly 5 per cent of the yearly sales, he added. “Comparing last year’s figures to this year, there has been an increase of 7-10 per cent on total sales,” he added. Rajesh Mehta, executive chairman of Rajesh Exports Limited (REL) and Shubh Jewellers, told Express thatthere would be at least a 16- 17 per cent hike of gold sales in the state during the festive season of Diwali. He added that his retail outlet, which is also the largest in the state, would aspire to sell about Rs 50 crore worth jewellery during the week.

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