Global diamond giant, De Beers expects around 20-25% growth in diamond jewellery sales during this festive season as compared to same period last year, buoyed by positive consumer sentiments, correction in diamond prices and growth in private consumption of jewellery.
“We are expecting a 20-25% of sales growth in value terms during this festive season like-for-like.
“Big campaigns have begun,” Amit Pratihari, vice president, De Beers Forevermark, told FE.
According to Pratihari, consumer sentiments are positive and overall there is a positivity in the whole ecosystem.
“And, there is a favourable gold price. People in general are looking forward to it. And, if you look at the sales trend, the fourth quarter, the festive time, is a big time for us.
“There is a good percentage of business happening during this time. So, factors are powerful,” he pointed out, adding there is a growth of private consumption of diamond jewellery.
Softening of gold prices is happening, and it would, Pratihari said, boost diamond jewellery sales.
“Gold is also a component in diamond jewellery. So, if there is a correction in gold price, it impacts positively towards diamond jewellery. The product becomes little bit affordable,” he explained.
For diamond prices, there is a small correction in certain categories. “This is primarily due to the global scenario. The US and China are not doing so great. Because of that, diamond consumption has drastically fallen.
“As a result there is a softening of prices. We have seen that whenever there is a small correction in prices, people buy,” said Pratihari.
In India, De Beers Forevermark has 15 exclusive stores through its retail partners. In this festive season, it will focus on Avaanti collection for boosting sales.
The brand is not adding new stores in the country because it wants to consolidate and focus on like-for-like growth.
Market size for natural diamond jewellery is around $7.5-8 billion currently in India. For De Beers, it is the third-largest market after the US and China.
According to Pratihari, laboratory-grown diamonds are “absolutely no threat” to the natural diamond jewellery business.
“Synthetic diamonds are no comparison to natural diamonds. Every category has different business dynamics. Synthetic diamonds have no scarcity and prices are dropping everyday. There is no luxury in it,” he said, adding that for natural diamonds there is significant market opportunity.
“So, we are focusing on our strengths. I don’t think synthetic diamonds are any comparison to the natural diamonds,” he added.