Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers expects drop in sales for 5 months; delays new launches

: Noted jewellery retailer Vummidi

Bangaru Jewellers expects to take a hit in sales for the next five months due to the ongoing lockdown and said it is delaying new design launches.

Managing Partner Amarendran Vummidi said that the lockdown has affeted sales on Akshaya Tritiya day, which usually is 10 to 12 times more than normal.

"This (sales) is the usual norm for Akshaya Tritiya.

But if Tirupati can be (under) lockdown and Mecca can be lock-down, I think lock-down on Akshaya Tritiya day would surely be a first.

But we are all doing it for the good and welfare of the community", he told PTI.

 

Asked about the challenges faced, he said, "every week of closure should be equal to one month of setting back.

So probably if the lock-down is for five weeks, we probably will have a five month impact after which things will come back to normal".

Expansion of projects and new launches would be delayed and the retalier would take things ahead after assessing how the market responds, he said.

The primary challenge was to make sure that all staff and customers are safe, he said.

"That is one of the major risks we see. We are taking a lot of care to make sure that does not happen.

The second risk is with regard to sales. We expect a drop-in sale for the first five months. Most of our products and production will be going down", he said.

He said once the lock-down was lifted they expect 'price point' to drop.

"That is what we are looking at. We are looking at a drop in price points and drop-in sales", he said.

On the opportunities available in the current situation, he said they expect a quick rebound in sales with the commodities and share markets witnessing a fall once normality is restored

"only gold is resilient. People's confidence in investing in gold has improved. For a short term there will be a drop in sales, but long term business will be much better, he said.

On expecting support from the government, he said they wanted them to be a little more empathetic towards the industry in terms of ESI and PF "if the government can bear most of it".