Stress in Rs 50k-1 lakh price points: Titan’s jewellery biz head

MUMBAI: Geopolitical uncertainty and trade tariff jitters are weighing on hiring and new job openings in certain sectors, impacting discretionary spending by consumers across sectors ranging from apparel to auto. In the jewellery space which still has an edge given the intrinsic value gold and diamond hold, spends have been a bit better comparatively but fluctuating gold prices have hit demand in the sub Rs 50,000-1 lakh (pricing) category, said Ajoy Chawla, CEO of jewellery division at Titan. Mass markets are largely bearing the brunt of the surrounding uncertainty at least in the jewellery space; premium and luxury segments continue to fare well. “Sentiment has been subdued in the lower price points, the customer there is beginning to feel the pinch of high gold prices. “At the same time, some are going through tough times (referring to factors such as job uncertainty) ….and customerers are a bit under pressure.

Uncertainity taking a toll

Many international IT/tech companies have been reducing jobs and some of that is kind of flowing back. The volatility that we have come to live with now for the past five-six quarters continues,” Chawla told TOI in an interview on the sidelines of a company event here on Friday, adding that early end of season sales being rolled out by certain firms (across industries) indicate wobbly demand. Fluctuating sentiment “The sentiment is not bad but it is fluctuating…uncertainty affects consumers in different ways. The greatest stress is below Rs 50,000 and 1 lakh segment in both gold and diamond,” Chawla said, pinning hopes on tax breaks to partly lift broader consumption through the course of the year. For Titan which owns brands Tanishq and Zoya, the June quarter has been decent but it could have been better, said Chawla who is set to take over as the MD of Titan from Jan 1. Consumers in the mass segment may shift to jewellery with lesser gold content and light weight items and the industry as a whole will need to innovate to boost demand in the near-term. “We are getting people used to lower caratage products in gold. We have piloted it in the North and the East and the initial response has been good. All the fundamentals of the India growth story are here. We have to stimulate demand in the short run, manage our inventory and gold prices with agility,” Chawla said. There’s also a push to bolster the trust of people in diamonds which only has a 15% penetration in India. To this end, Tanishq has partnered with De Beers Group to set up diamonds expertise centres across its stores.