NEW DELHI: With the whole nation under a 21-day lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, markets across industries have taken a hit. The lifestyle industry too is facing a brunt given the list of cancelled new launches, collections, weddings and exhibitions. Here, we take a closer look at how pandemic has affected India’s jewellery industry, with its karigars, and market.
“We expected 2020 to be better, so we started it on a stronger note, full of demand and production. But in these past four weeks, things have changed because of the coronavirus,” says Neha Arora, Owner of Soni Sapphire, adding, “Looking at the present statistics, the lockdown in the metropolitan has resulted in an additional loss of five per cent in exports, besides the low demand due to economic slowdown. Also, as the outbreak has affected Japan, China and South Korea, there’s a sharp fall in demand in the global market, which has impacted some export orders to these countries as well.”
With gold rate falling Rs 2,000 per 10 gramme in the last week, Megha Malik, who owns RESA Fine Jewellery, calls the market “very unstable.” Malik says, “Everybody is staying put. I don’t see a lot of movement in the coming few weeks. Also, demand in the world’s second-biggest gold consumer has already tumbled, slammed by record-high domestic prices and as the economy heads for the slowest pace of growth in 11 years.” To avoid the spread of Covid-19, Malik, like others, has had to shut her production facilities as most of the staff use public transport. “We believe staying in is better than venturing out. Also, there is a visible liquidity crunch in the market too, so I don’t think people are looking at making any investments at the moment.”
Adding to Malik’s concerns is Arpit Goyal, Owner of Ambrus Jewels. “It appears that volatility in gold price is driven by massive liquidations across all assets and likely magnified by leveraged positions and rule-based trading,” says Goyal, predicting this phase may take a while until financial markets stabilise. “Meanwhile, gold prices may experience further swings.” He believes that consumer demand may soften in the first half of this year. But once the pandemic subsides, he expects wedding preparations to resume and gold to be among the first of the asset classes to witness consumer appetite. “As a precautionary measure we have shut our store and considering customers jewellery queries via WhatsApp and Instagram and for the selections to be made. Contactless deliveries will also be available,” he adds.
Atul Jain, who owns Atul Jewellers, has already set in motion his ‘Corona action plan’. “We must utilise this time for development activities. We already paid all our employees for this month, so that they or their families don’t face any hardships. We’ve also paid up the dues of all our small vendors and workers,” says Jain, who is also identifying programmes where he can contribute to the wellbeing of daily wage workers, who are the most affected.
“One such programme is by Urban Company, formerly known as Urban Clap. Through Srinidhi foundation, they are working for people who are part of the GIG economy (contractual or daily wage labour),” he says, signing off.