The only spoiler: shortages due to lack of supply and the semiconductor crisis, which hit the car industry very badly. Gold sellers also reported shortages due to lack of supply, especially for coins which are usually in high demand on Dhanteras.
TOI spoke to a cross-section of companies and retailers across the country, and the mood was upbeat, albeit with shortages.
“The market is back on track, and at pre-Covid levels in terms of demand. There’s a huge crowd and loud shopping.” Akhil NirankariDirector in Narangu Nirankari Jewelers in Delhi said. Nirankari said that rationalization in gold prices in the last few months and the ongoing wedding season has added to the rush.
Ajay Chawla, CEO of Titan’s Jewelery Division, Tata Group said that demand across price categories has been strong in gold jewelery and diamond studded jewellery.
“This year, we are seeing many more people in the market than last year. The trend has been strong over the past few months, and continues on Dhanteras,” Chawla said, adding that lack of consumption in travel, movies and even automobiles (due to lack of supply in cars) led to a good demand for jewellery. Whose wallet-share has increased.
Chawla, whose company operates 540 stores across the country, said, “The wedding season is only adding to this number, and demand remains strong across the country, including in Tier 3 and Tier 4 regions.”
MD Vikas Singh said that MMTC-PAMP India, a venture between state-owned MMTC and Swiss company PAMP SA, is witnessing tremendous demand for its products. However, he said the shortage was spoiling the party. “Gold is out of stock. Silver is not in stock.”
But if the shortage is something troubling for gold sellers, the problem is much more serious for the car industry. Numbers tell the story: Semiconductor-starved Maruti has a delivery back-log of 2.5 lakh cars, Hyundai has one lakh cars pending, and even luxury maker Mercedes-Benz has around 2,500 There are 3,000 vehicles awaiting delivery. Which is roughly equivalent to two and a half to three months of its regular inventory.
In the car industry, some dealers took a gloomy look by late evening as almost all stock, including performance cars, had been sold out. And when the delivery happened, the waiting period was excruciating for many as it went on for six months on some models.
“Many of our showrooms are almost empty. All the cars are sold out, and we don’t even have a display car.” Santosh IyerHead of Sales and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz India said. “We are expecting the delivery of over 500 cars on Dhanteras, which will be almost the same as last year. We don’t have any more cars to deliver, just when there are customers waiting. ”
Shashank Srivastava, director (marketing and sales), Maruti Suzuki, said the numbers are strong and are almost at the level of last year’s around 15,500 vehicles, though they will be less than the 2019 versions. “It is disappointing to see the waiting period, however we are informing the customers. We are trying to increase production as much as possible, but the pending list is very long.”
Tarun Garg, director of sales and marketing at Hyundai India, also said that demand is strong, and the only constraint is supply. “We expect to deliver at least 4,500 cars on Dhanteras, which is almost three times more than what we are doing on a non-festival day. The wedding season itself is creating trouble for us as the demand is always strong.”
On the durables and white goods side, demand has once again strengthened, especially in demand for large screen TVs and premium washing machines and refrigerators. “The market is definitely stronger than last year, and we are seeing an estimated 30-35% price increase as compared to the Dhanteras sales of 2020. The large screen premium televisions, especially the 55, have received remarkable customer response. inches and above segments,” said Sunil Nayyar, MD, Sony India.
Not just TVs, the demand for soundbars and headphones also remains high.
Samsung retailers also reported strong business, and said sales would be at least 20-25% higher than last Dhanteras. Consumers come in strong numbers despite rise in prices due to increase in inputs on most of the products.
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