PANAJI: The festival of Akshaya Tritiya, which usually sees a spurt in purchases, especially of gold, vehicles and flats has left Goa’s jewellery, automobile and real estate industries gloomy, this year.
On Tuesday, a day after the celebrations, jewellers, auto dealers and estate agents said that the festival did not result in any major increase in business for them. The customary surge in purchases was missing, said retailers and dealers.
Ornament sellers attributed the dull scenario to high prices of gold while auto dealers and real estate companies said the lacklustre volumes were due to the general low level of consumption in the economy.
Pramut Raikar of Goa Gold Dealers Association, Margao, said that demand was on the slower side, although every year “we see an increase in purchases of gold coins and heavy jewellery.” This year, customers did not buy and made token purchases of light weight coins. The high price of gold that is up 10 per cent than what it was in 2015 is a major reason why residents have not been keen on buying jewellery, he said.
According to Sagar Pednekar of Goa Gold Jewellers Association, North Goa, the presence of outside residents in Goa means that Akshaya Tritiya celebrations have become noticeable in the state in recent years. “We witnessed higher footfalls in our shop on the day, but I will have to check my books to say whether it translated into more sales,” he said.
Another jeweller, Milind Lotlikar, proprietor of Shobha Jewellers, Panaji, said that it was a dismal celebration as the state failed to witness the anticipated pickup in sales despite the festival coinciding with the marriage season. “In the past, sales increased by as much as 30 per cent during the festival while this year, there was a fractional rise. The one-month jewellery industry strike seems to have turned people against gold or perhaps the shopping ritual with the festival is vanishing,” felt Lotlikar.
Goa’s 40-odd four- and two-wheeler dealers, who make up the automobile industry in the state, usually witness a rush of deliveries on Akshaya Tritiya day. However, deliveries were less this year and dealers described the festival as “pretty damp.” Pradeep Naik of Ashvek Motors said, “We managed to carry out deliveries against previous bookings but on the whole, it was an unexciting celebration.”
For the realty industry, which is trying to emerge out of the recession, Akshaya Tritiya passed “as usual,” said a source from Mangalam Builders.
Gold, automobiles and housing are the three things that sell well in Goa during Akshaya Tritiya, said Parind Nachinolkar, director of Priority Automobiles. The industry is facing adverse market conditions and the fact that demand did not pick up even on Akshaya Tritiya day is worrisome, said Nachinolkar. He felt that instead of raising taxes, the government must come out with incentives for consumption to improve.
Most Goans use Akshaya Tritiya as an occasion to buy gold or a new car as the day is considered auspicious. In the past, jewellers and auto dealers advertised heavily during the festival. Lately, the real estate industry has also jumped onto the festival shopping bandwagon.