Jewellery brands confident Dhanteras will push them out of gloom

The economic slowdown, job losses, especially in the auto sector, and high gold prices have dented the festive cheer. The poor purchasing power of consumers has badly affected sales across categories — FMCG, consumer durables, fashion and apparel, etc. Amid the gloom, jewellery brands — Kalyan Jewellers, Reliance Jewels, Senco Gold and Diamonds and Tanishq — have pinned their hopes on Dhanteras.

Gold prices saw a sharp rise, touching ₹40,000 last month, which impacted buying sentiments. The prices, however, dropped by about ₹1,950 per 10 gram last week, giving some hope for revival. Retailers are now hoping for a major shift in the purchase pattern.

According to industry insiders, with gold prices inching down, the market response for this Dhanteras looks very positive. Even though big-ticket wedding purchases had continued through the last couple of months, the present stabilising of gold prices will further propel both small ticket/token buying as well as wedding purchase trends.

Ramesh Kalyanaraman

“We are hopeful that Dhanteras and Diwali will be favourable, with customers willing to buy jewellery not just as an investment, but also because it is a custom or tradition that is followed during these auspicious occasions. This is the start of the wedding season. Therefore, we are optimistic about big-ticket purchases picking up from here,” says Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers.

Sandeep Kulhalli

Echoing similar sentiments, Sandeep Kulhalli, Senior Vice-President, Retail and Marketing, Jewellery Division, Titan Company, says, “We are confident of posting high volumes this year too. A positive sentiment has been seen among the consumers as everyone is gearing up for Dhanteras. The Central Government’s recent announcement on bonus will also help boost sales this year.”

“We have opened quite a good number of Tanishq stores this year and are hoping to see good footfall in our new as well as existing stores,” Kulhalli adds.

Senco Gold & Diamonds is also anticipating a surge in demand for the yellow metal ahead of Diwali and in the ongoing festive season. The Kolkata-based jewellery brand is expecting a sequential growth of 30-40% from the previous months.

Big marketing push

With high hopes, brands are shelling out big bucks on marketing and advertising, and are adopting an integrated approach. Most brands are opting for a multi-channel marketing approach wherein print, television, radio and digital mediums are being explored. 

‘Shine Bright this Diwali with the Gift of Gold’ released by Malabar Gold and Diamonds

 “This year, we have decided to go big with brand promotions across leading digital and social media platforms by allotting 15% of our advertising and marketing spends to digital mediums. For this season, however, our digital spends was 30% of the total Diwali budget,” said Kalyanaraman. 

Kalyan Jewellers kicked off the festive season with a TVC featuring brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan with daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda, highlighting the brand’s newly-launched 4-Level Assurance Certification programme. The campaign was further amplified across states in south India featuring brand ambassadors — Prabhu Ganesan (Tamil Nadu), Shivraj Kumar (Karnataka), Akkineni Nagarjuna (Andhra Pradesh & Telangana) and Manju Warrier (Kerala).

Kalyan Jewellers’ TVC, featuring brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan and daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda

“Keeping in mind the millennial audience and various factors they consider when it comes to making purchase decision, we launched a full-fledged digital campaign, #DilRoshanTohDiwaliRoshan, featuring our global brand ambassador Katrina Kaif. As part of this campaign, we had short videos that showcased the essence and celebrations centred around Diwali, while highlighting our latest jewellery designs,” said Kalyanaraman.

#DilRoshanTohDiwaliRoshan digital ad campaign released by Kalyan Jewellers 

Similarly, several brand campaigns are on air for Senco Gold & Diamonds and its sub-brands — AHAM, Everlite and Bridal Collections. Titled ‘Shine On’, the brand’s latest campaign featuring Sourav Ganguly promotes men’s jewellery collection – AHAM.

Shine On: Senco Gold and Diamond’s ad, featuring Sourav Ganguly, promotes brand’s ‘AHAM’ collection 

Suvankar Sen

“Our ‘Don’t Take Me Lightly’ brand campaign, featuring Swapna Barman, promotes Everlite collections. Suman Rao - Femina Miss India World 2019; Shivani Jadhav - Femina Miss Grand India 2019 and Megha Kaul - Femina Miss India Jammu & Kashmir 2019 are promoting our Bridal Collection — ‘The Great Indian Vivaha Collection,” said Suvankar Sen, Executive Director – Senco Gold & Diamonds.

It’s raining offers

To give customers some extra dose of happiness, brands have announced a bouquet of offers — e.g. Reliance Jewels is offering an attractive package for its ‘Atulyaa’ collection. The brand is also offering special saving on making charges of gold jewellery and discounts on diamond jewellery. Customers can also avail of additional 10% cash back with select cards during the festive season.

Kalyan Jewellers is giving away 3 lakh gold coins. The brand is also providing instant discounts — Rs 1250 off on every 10 gram gold purchase and a reduced making charges or VA, starting as low as Rs 199 per gram.

In case of diamond jewellery, Kalyan Jewellers is offering a flat 20% discount to customers. The jewellery brand has partnered with banks and banking network aggregators to provide additional offers and discounts.

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