The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : The Gold Rush

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 26, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

The Gold Rush

The allure of gold is everlasting

Indian woman and gold are inseparable – a relationship that even the ever-increasing gold prices have been unable to break. Despite gold prices touching the Rs. 900/g mark, the passion to buy jewellery has not waned. With Diwali approaching, and the competition hotting up in the market, attractive schemes and designs will lure the buyer to further ignore the price tag and buy a design of choice. The market is expected to perk up with heavy buying that goes hand-in-hand with buying clothes for Diwali.

Gold is still considered a good investment and, therefore, traditional, heavy designs continue to attract buyers, especially during the marriage and festival season. However, the accent today is to shifting to lightweight jewellery with stylized designs. The youth want the jewellery designs to complement their designer clothes. “The youth have accessorised jewellery today. They want small, light jewellery with unique designs,”). the older generation continues to invest in chains and bangles that are heavy. To cater to the needs of the younger generation, customized designs are offered.

“No one wants to lock up jewellery these days in bank lockers.

All want to use and enjoy, and so they are looking at modern designs.”

There are any number of gold shops today in Trichyi alone. Customer loyalty –a difficult thing in today’s world of consumerism – is built the hard way, over the years, by keeping in touch with customer requirements, right pricing and service and the reputation one builds over time. As a result, despite intense competition, each outlet has their own band of loyal customers.

This is also highlighted in the fact that, despite the availability of branded jewellery, it is the traditional businesses that re doing well. Branded jewellery probably enjoys about 5-10%of the total market share. While price could be one factor, it is also the comfort factor for the buyer. It is the personalized service and the availability of choice – plus customization in some cases that makes buying in these shops an experience will worth other effort – despite the rush. While the rapid rise in prices hit the market, slowing down its growth, it is just a temporary phase.

The traditional value attached to gold, the availability of designs that cater to varying tastes and the proverbial attachment of women of all ages to jewellery have ensured that the popularity of gold never wanes! Increased advertising and attractive schemes have also added impetus to its growth. In addition to plain gold jewellery, the availability of various designs in stones of different hues and colours have also helped the market grow.

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