Jewellery demand in India resilient despite high gold prices: Indriya CEO

Jewellery demand in India remains resilient despite volatility in gold prices and consumers rather adapt to new buying patterns instead of deferring purchases, said Sandeep Kohli, CEO of Indriya, the jewellery retail brand of Aditya Birla Group.

“Volatility in any kind of pricing is not something consumers like. When there is too much volatility in gold rates, consumers tend to hold back purchases. But the demand does not go down,” Kohli told PTI. Gold jewellery continues to occupy a special place in consumers’ hearts because purchases are often associated with weddings, festivals and other significant occasions, he said.

In the last six months, the demand for gold and value sales have been good. People have bought gold for weddings and during festivals, including Akshaya Tritiya, he said. However, he acknowledged that soaring gold prices have prompted consumers to modify their buying patterns.

“... if the gold price has gone up to the extent that it has gone up just now, it is but obvious that consumers’ budgets have not increased by that much. So, then consumers change their behaviour. They change the way they are buying... They may stretch it a bit,” he said. There are reports that consumers are moving beyond the traditional preference for 22-carat gold jewellery and opting for lower-purity variants, such as 18-carat and 14-carat. According to Kohli, this is not a “down-trading” but a “smart adjustment” by consumers seeking to balance affordability with design and aesthetics. Besides gold, the company is focusing on expanding its play in diamonds, which account for roughly 10 per cent of the Indian Jewellery market, estimated at around `8 lakh crore.