A latent demand for gold jewellery that is building up in the country is expected to perk up sales of the yellow metal, which, in the first-half, lost some sheen.
“There is a build up of latent demand… and the early [sales] trends for the second-half of 2012 are positive,” World Gold Council (WGC) Director (Jewellery) Vipin Sharma said on Tuesday. These augured well, coming as they were after a first-half that saw gold jewellery sales dipping, in value terms, by 8 per cent.
Mr. Sharma was interacting with presspersons in Chennai at the launch of ‘Azva’, a wedding jewellery collection launched by the World Gold Council in association with leading jewellery retailers.
The launch of the brand, a first for the Council, was a consumer-centric move, he replied to a query on whether it was a measure to boost sales.
Sales zone
The seven select jewellers in Chennai with whom the collection would be available, he added, however, would have separate sales zone in the showrooms for ‘Azva’.
By the end of this year, the wedding collection would be marketed through 40 outlets in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore besides Chennai. Next year, it would be available in 20 cities.
