City witnesses 'Gold Rush' on the occasion of Akshaya Thritiya

Year on year sales for Akshaya Thritiya were 5% higher for 2009 compared to 2008 and World Gold Council also spoke to key gold jewellery retailers to get their views on the market festival performance.

Anan Fakhreddin Managing Director, Middle East and Turkey said, "Since time immemorial gold has been considered as the ultimate store of value and prosperity world over including India. This is because it is closely integrated into their culture and religious practices. In fact, despite the ongoing economic downturn, the faith that consumers place in gold remains unshakable as ever, for they are convinced of it being one of the most dependable and reliable assets of all time."

"And gold has proved to be an effective portfolio diversifier throughout the financial crisis. The success of Akshaya Thritiya for the gold jewellers proves that the right marketing initiatives do attract favourable results and they need to continue to re-engage their customers," Fakhreddin added.

Joy Alukkas, Chairman, Joy Alukkas said, "In collaboration with World Gold Council, we implemented a special promotion with increased marketing activities for this auspicious occasion, which was highly welcomed by our customers. We also witnessed a substantial increase in sales leading up to the event. Gold continued to maintain its position as the most valued and reliable jewellery in current market scenario."

In fact the rush of customers to their stores was so much on Akshaya Thritiya that they reported that in order to manage expected crowd, they had called for extra staff from their main offices. And while sales on both days were very high at all their outlets in the city, he said it had more than doubled on the day of the festival itself.

Many customers appeared to have bought gold out of a sentiment to observe the festival and ensure a continuance of prosperity. One late shopper who wished to remain anonymous said that her mother based in Bangalore had called her several times during the week reminding her of the significance of the day and asking her not to forget to buy at least the smallest amount of gold on Akshaya Thritiya.

So though she could visit Gold Souk only around 10:30pm, when most of the shops had closed down, she had bought a small gold pendant, saying she was happy to carry forward a tradition that was believed to attract good fortune in her family.

Mr.Tawhid Abdullah, Managing Director, Damas Jewellery said, "This Akshaya Thritiya sales were more than expected and we have exceeded 2008 sales for the same occasion. We launched a specially designed collection for Akshaya Thritiya with attractive promotional offers for our valuable clients that were very well received. Our vast array of gold jewellery collections present designs for both mood and occasions, as well as for all age groups .We are extremely happy with the response and customer loyalty that we enjoy."

Babu John, Chairman, Sky Jewellery said, "Our launch of a gold gifting campaign with World Gold Council beginning Akshaya Thritiya was very well received by our customers. This campaign integrated a new collection of 22kt Turkish Jewellery that was the hot favourite. During this occasion, even in these economic challenges, people are willing to invest their hard earned income in gold. We had opened our stores earlier during this occasion in order to cater to the expected crowd and are very happy with the response."

Peak hour interestingly, for sales on this auspicious day he said was between 2pm - 5pm as several customers chose to come during their lunch break to make their purchases.