CHALLENGED MARKET OR VEILED OPPORTUNITY

With India and much of the world in lockdown thanks to the novel coronavirus, the gems and jewellery industry is under severe pressure. Eventually, the showrooms will reopen, but it may not be business as usual for some time to come. What are jewellers thinking, what do they expect — and where are the bright spots to be found? The Retail Jeweller samples opinion and action from across this vast, people-centred industry, and fi nds deep concern balanced by resilience and altruism.

- Soma Bhatta

Lockdown, quarantine, self-isolation, social distancing: some of the unpleasant new additions to our everyday vocabulary. The “corona outbreak” is writing a dreadful chapter in the modern history of humankind. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a threat to all humans, not just as members of our species but as lively economic actors. It looks set to engulf many productive businesses, including in the gems and jewellery industry.

The Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council of India (GJC) estimates that purchases will plummet by 30 per cent in 2020, from 690 tonnes of gold last year. That would make it the smallest annual purchase since 1995’s 477 tonnes. “The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) estimates that exports will take a hit of nearly $2.68 billion by the end of March 2020,” says COLIN SHAH, Vice Chairman, GJEPC.

The industry has been grappling with disruptive forces for some time. Jewellery sales were already muted because of the economic slowdown. Besides, buyers have been holding back, hoping for a price correction, even as gold prices rocketed sky-high. That’s when the novel coronavirus exploded onto the scene. In the face of this crisis, with people closed into their own homes, shops shuttered, and imaginations overflowing with thoughts of contagion, the industry finds itself gasping for breath.

It may be a crisis for survival for many jewellers with less financial resilience. There appears to be little relief on the horizon, with overseas as well as domestic demand at a standstill. The near- to mid-term business outlook appears bleak. So essentially, on a optimistic note fourth quarter maybe the saviour, but how much remains to be seen.

CELEBRATIONS TURN GLOOM