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Gifting gold has taken a beating because of price rise
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Jeweller Bikash Gupta is a worried man. The rise in gold price — the yellow metal touched Rs 30,000 on Saturday — has not only impacted sales at his Naihati store but also wedding preparations at his home.
“My brother is getting married in November. We were expecting the gold price to fall and had postponed jewellery shopping. The recent price rise caught us off guard,” he says.
Many of his customers too have been caught off guard. “They are going away from the shop hearing the price. Sales have fallen more than 20 per cent in the past two days,” says Gupta.
Those who cannot postpone their gold purchase any more are opting for “lighter jewellery”, says Subir Sen, the president of Swarna Shilpa Bachao Committee.
“Shoppers are going for jewellery of lower weight to stay within budget,” explains Brinda Ganguly Sarkar, proprietor of The Gold Factory, where “even 4g necklaces” are sold.
The trend is evident at jewellery chain Tanishq too. “Footfalls have dropped sharply since the price rise on Saturday. Those who want to buy 150-200g chains are having to settle for 40-60g chains,” says Avijit Chatterjee, store manager, Tanishq, Gariahat.
Those who see gold as investment are the only ones who do not mind the price rise. “The steady increase in gold price over the past couple of years (from Rs 20,000 in 2010 to Rs 30,000 this year) has boosted the confidence of investors in the yellow metal. Gold is considered a liquid asset and hence even common people buy it knowing that they can sell it off in bad times,” says Anargha Chowdhury, director, Anjali Jewellers.
“Marriage shopping has not really been affected as the gold price has been increasing over the last couple of years and people are used to it. Customers in fact are asking us if they will gain tomorrow by buying gold jewellery today. The spending pattern of the customers has become more planned than before,” says Chowdhury.
Joydeep Sircar of B. Sircar Johuree on Chowringhee and in Bowbazar agrees. “Prices have been hovering around Rs 28,000-29,000 for a while, now people have gotten used to it. The only downside perhaps is that fewer people are gifting gold. While people are still buying gold for family members, they would rather gift a Rs 5,000 microwave to friends than gold jewellery,” he says.
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