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In the past, gold was mainly purchased during the wedding season, now this trend is slowing down. "We are expecting a 10-15 per cent growth for festival buying this year (2011) nationally. We are bullish during festivals," WGC Director Shivram Kumar, told reporters here.
Last year, the growth was 5-6 per cent during the season, broadly taken to be between August and December with regional variations.
There is a lot of gold buying in the market and people are not deterred by prices, he said, adding that consumers were getting used to increasing prices.
"We identify festivals like 'Akshayathreetiya' when consumers can purchase the jewellery," he said.
India consumes over 800 tonne gold annually. Last year, the country imported 963 tonne of gold and in the first half of this year 500 tonne has been imported.
South India contributes 40-45 per cent of the country's demand with Tamil Nadu topping the chart, followed by Kerala.
To woo more customers, retailers have to come out with new designs and new products, he said.
On the occasion of 'Onam', various jewellers are organising gold festivals across the state.
The VNM jewellery has come out with Kathakali collection, with bangles, pendents, necklaces having motifs inspired by the traditional dance form.
"We entrusted artists to develop a masterpiece and a new collection called 'Onam festival' was developed," VNM Jewel Crafts Ltd Jewellers Vice-President G Vishwanath said.
A "masterpiece" made of 1 kg of gold and costing about Rs 30 lakh has also been displayed.
Other jewellers, including Bhima, Josco, Joy Alukkas, Malabar Gold in Kerala and GRT, Shree Laxmi and Chammanur Fashion jewellers in Chennai are offering about 8 per cent less wastage on various gold bangales and chains.
Abaran Jewellers in Bangalore is introducing a collection inspired by the festival of Onam.
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