Some retailers have registered fluctuating sales as gold prices drop
Dubai: Gold jewellery retailers expressed mixed opinions about the impact of falling gold prices on their business as the Dubai International Jewellery Week opened in Dubai on Wednesday.
Gold has fallen 36 per cent since the record high in 2011, largely due to heavy selling by institutional investors. Spot gold stood at $1,215.89 a troy ounce on Wednesday.
Speaking at the event, some retailers said that they have enjoyed good sales, while others complained of fluctuating sales.
“We are worried about volumes, not gold prices — our profit is related to volume. We sell and then buy on the same day,” Darshan Patel, owner of wholesaler Manubhai Zaveri in India, told Gulf News.
Lalit Mujadi, sales manager of Rock Jewels in Dubai, said that his company witnessed fluctuating sales over the last three years. “When prices are lower, we need to buy in bulk,” he said.
To generate more sales, Rock Jewels takes advantage of new trends in the market and offer customers new designs, Mujadi said. According to him, 22 karat gold has been attracting strong demand from customers since gold prices dropped.
However, according to Nitin Daga, owner of Mahek Gold, a wholesaler in India, importing gold from the UAE is a challenge due to government restrictions. Meanwhile, “Indian banks are not providing us with enough gold; we get five to 10 kg,” Daga said, adding that in Dubai he can buy more. As a result, supplies to be made for orders of 100 kg of gold in the UAE is challenging, he said.
The Indian governmnet has placed a 15 per cent import duty on gold jewellery, from 10 per cent, in a move to curb gold imports and protect the local jewellery industry. It has said that 20 per cent of all gold imports must be exported as jewellery. The measure has caused some delays in supplies for exporters. Gold jewellery exports declined 6.9 per cent in October compared to the previous month to $608.95 million.
The hike in import tax is unlikely to have a big impact since jewellery accounts for only a small amount of the country’s gold imports. India’s imports of gold jewellery were valued at $137.57 million between April and July, while bullion imports in July stood at $2.9 billion.
Dubai International Jewellery Week runs from Wednesday to Saturday.
courtesy of gulfnews
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