Dhanteras: atmosphere of optimism in Cos, retailers on Dhanteras

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After a tumultuous period after Covid and an unprecedented year and a half since the deadly virus outbreak, Dhanteras saw consumers return to the market with a vengeance as the joy of shopping regained previous highs in all product categories on the promising day – from the usual gold and silver, to to automobiles and household appliances like televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines.
The only spoiler: Bottlenecks due to delivery bottlenecks and semiconductor problems, which have hit the auto industry very hard. Gold sellers also reported bottlenecks due to delivery bottlenecks, particularly for coins, which are generally in high demand on Dhanteras.

TOI spoke to a cross section of companies and retailers across the country and sentiment was optimistic, albeit clouded by shortages.
“The market is back on track and in terms of demand at the pre-Covid level. There is a strong rush and strong buying, ”said Akhil Nirankari, director of Narang Nirankari Jewelers in Delhi. Nirankari said the streamlining of gold prices over the past few months and the current wedding season have added to the rush.
Ajoy Chawla, CEO of the Tata Group’s jewelry division, Titan, said the demand for gold jewelry and diamond-set jewelry is robust across all price ranges.
“We’re seeing a lot more people in the market this year than last year. The trend has been strong in recent months and continues on Dhanteras, “said Chawla, adding that the lack of consumption in travel, movies and even cars (due to car supply shortages) has resulted in good demand for jewelry, whose wallet share has increased.
“The wedding season only adds to that number, and demand across the country remains strong, including Tier 3 and Tier 4,” said Chawla, whose company operates 540 stores across the country.
MMTC-PAMP India, a company between the state-owned MMTC and Switzerland-based PAMP SA, is seeing strong demand for its products, said MD Vikas Singh. However, he said that bottlenecks spoil the party. “Gold is sold out. Silver is sold out. ”
But if shortages are a little irritating to the gold sellers, the problem for the auto industry is a very serious one. The numbers tell the story: Maruti has a delivery backlog of 2.5 lakh cars, Hyundai has one lakh cars outstanding and even the luxury manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has around 2,500 to 3,000 vehicles waiting for delivery, which corresponds to almost two and a half to three months of its regular inventory .
In the auto industry, some dealerships wore an abandoned look until late in the evening as almost all of their inventory was sold out – including the display cars. And while deliveries were in progress, the wait for many was excruciating, as it can be up to six months on some models.
“Many of our showrooms are almost empty. All the cars have been sold and we don’t even have exhibition cars, ”says Santosh Iyer, Head of Sales and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz India. “We hope to be able to deliver over 500 cars on Dhanteras, that would be almost the same as last year. We don’t have any more cars to give out if the customers are there and wait. ”
Shashank Srivastava, Director (Marketing and Sales) at Maruti Suzuki, said the numbers are strong and close to last year’s level of around 15,500 vehicles, although they would be below 2019 volumes. “It’s disappointing to look at the waiting time even though we keep customers informed. We’re trying to increase production as much as possible, but the waiting list is very long. ”
Tarun Garg, Director of Sales and Marketing at Hyundai India, also said demand is strong and the only limitation remains supply. “We hope to be able to deliver at least 4,500 cars on Dhanteras, which is almost three times as many as on a non-fixed day. The wedding season makes it difficult for us because the demand is always strong. ”
On the consumer goods and white goods side, demand was again robust, especially since large-screen televisions as well as high-quality washing machines and refrigerators were in demand. “The market is certainly stronger compared to last year and we are seeing an estimated 30-35% growth in value compared to 2020 sales of Dhanteras. There has been a remarkable response from customers to large screen premium TVs, especially the 55 ‘inches and up, ”said Sunil Nayyar, MD of Sony India.
Not only televisions, but also sound bars and headphones are in demand.
Samsung retailers also reported strong business, saying sales will be at least 20-25% higher than last Dhanteras. The strong numbers come despite the fact that consumer prices have risen due to the increase in inputs for most products.

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