Jewellery biz loses sheen at Kurupam market

The advent of shopping malls and new shops, and the introduction of branded jewellery have been eroding the fortunes of the small and medium range gold and silver shops at Kurupam market (old town) in Visakhapatnam.

As a result, the 230-odd gold and silver shops here have seen their sales shrink by 50 per cent.

"With the opening of bigger shops and shopping malls like CMR and Kalanikethan entering into the gold and diamond business, gold and silver jewellery sales have fallen by more than 50 per cent in the Kurupam market area," Narasimhachari, president of Visakha Gold and Silver Merchants Association, told Business Standard.

According to him, of the 230-odd gold shops in the Kurupam market area, about 20 shops were doing business to the tune of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh per day while 90-100 shops were registering sales of Rs 25,000 per day.

"The remaining shops recorded below Rs 5,000 sales a day. Earlier, most of the consumers used to purchase jewellery on orders. Now they are opting for shopping malls as they not only sell sarees and dress materials but also provide a wide range of gold jewellery including branded ones, under on roof. This is affecting the business of gold shops at Kurupam market significantly," Narasimhachari said.

"In the last one decade, close to 100 new gold and silver shops have come up in new areas like Dwarakanagar, Gajuwaka, Gopalapatnam, Pendurthi, MVP Colony and Seethammapet. This too is one of the reasons for the decline in jewellery sales in old town," said Ranjeet Jain, secretary, Visakha Gold and Silver Merchants Association.

However, the overall gold and diamond jewellery sales has been increasing by 8-10 per cent year-on-year in Visakhapatnam.

"Several branded jewellery companies like Tanishq, Oysterbay and Chennai-based Khazana have set up shop at Visakhapatnam, while branded jewellery major D'damas is planning to open its showroom shortly. This apart, local players like CMR, Kalanikethan, Hirapanna, Monchukonda and Vaibhav have invested Rs 2 - Rs 5 crore each to set up their shops at busy markets in the city. These shops have been selling close to Rs 10 lakh worth of jewellery a day," Jain said.

"Branded jewellery shops are attracting customers from Rajahmundry, Srikakulam and even Orissa," he added.