Yellow fever catches on among women
In india, gold could be snatching away the diamond’s best friend, as she gets more and more financially independent.
By Narayan Bhatt, TNN |
AHMEDABAD: In india, gold could be snatching away the diamond’s best friend, as she gets more and more financially independent.
According to a recent study by World Gold Council (WGC), the apex body for gold, the number of women in the country who are potential buyers of the yellow metal grew from 25m in ’02 to 32m in ’05. Which means India added a whopping 70 lakh new women gold customers in three years. That’s not all, this number will continue to increase by a couple of million every year as more women continue to join the country’s young workforce and become financially independent, the council said in the report.
The study found that the increasing independence of woman and shifts in attitudes and behaviours, combined with a significant increase in their personal wealth, has meant that gold has become a more relevant and desirable product to a greater number of women.
“Recent experience supports this premise, with the rise in gold sales outstripping the rise in general retail spending indices. These socio-economic changes have led to enormous growth in the potential market for gold jewellery,” says Natalie Dempster, investment research manager at WGC.
Out of the total gold consumption of Rs 60,000 to Rs 65,000 crore in India, it is estimated that nearly 90% is for jewellery and about 10% is for investment purpose.
“Today’s younger working Indian women with a progressive mindset combine a mix of the traditional as well as the modern. Gold jewellery used for office attire is very different from what they wear during traditional occasions like Diwali or marriages,” says V Govind Raj, vice-president, retail and marketing at Titan Industries, which makes Tanishq brand of gold jewellery.
A WGC spokesperson from London told ET that women are no longer choosing to wear gold because they are expected to, instead they are looking for products that make them feel glamorous, pampered and modern.
More women are seeking their independence by entering the workforce, which means there are increasingly two bread winners in the family and there is more disposable income available for discretionary purchases than in the past. Equally importantly, young middle class Indians are more willing to spend than their parents’ generation was, while tastes are becoming more international.
Professor of marketing at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, Piyush Sinha told ET that the number of occasions for purchasing and gifting of gold products has shot up. “Apart from the traditional festivals, there are so many days like ’Mother’s Day’, ’Rose Day’, ’Teachers Day’, which were not so prevalent some years back.
According to a recent study by World Gold Council (WGC), the apex body for gold, the number of women in the country who are potential buyers of the yellow metal grew from 25m in ’02 to 32m in ’05. Which means India added a whopping 70 lakh new women gold customers in three years. That’s not all, this number will continue to increase by a couple of million every year as more women continue to join the country’s young workforce and become financially independent, the council said in the report.
The study found that the increasing independence of woman and shifts in attitudes and behaviours, combined with a significant increase in their personal wealth, has meant that gold has become a more relevant and desirable product to a greater number of women.
“Recent experience supports this premise, with the rise in gold sales outstripping the rise in general retail spending indices. These socio-economic changes have led to enormous growth in the potential market for gold jewellery,” says Natalie Dempster, investment research manager at WGC.
Out of the total gold consumption of Rs 60,000 to Rs 65,000 crore in India, it is estimated that nearly 90% is for jewellery and about 10% is for investment purpose.
“Today’s younger working Indian women with a progressive mindset combine a mix of the traditional as well as the modern. Gold jewellery used for office attire is very different from what they wear during traditional occasions like Diwali or marriages,” says V Govind Raj, vice-president, retail and marketing at Titan Industries, which makes Tanishq brand of gold jewellery.
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A WGC spokesperson from London told ET that women are no longer choosing to wear gold because they are expected to, instead they are looking for products that make them feel glamorous, pampered and modern.
More women are seeking their independence by entering the workforce, which means there are increasingly two bread winners in the family and there is more disposable income available for discretionary purchases than in the past. Equally importantly, young middle class Indians are more willing to spend than their parents’ generation was, while tastes are becoming more international.
Professor of marketing at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, Piyush Sinha told ET that the number of occasions for purchasing and gifting of gold products has shot up. “Apart from the traditional festivals, there are so many days like ’Mother’s Day’, ’Rose Day’, ’Teachers Day’, which were not so prevalent some years back.
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