FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIAN PLATINUM JEWELLERY RETAIL SALES GREW BY 24% IN 2015
India, April, 2016: Platinum Guild International (PGI) today announced the result of its third annual Retail
Barometer. This research is conducted by a 3rd party agency, StratWon Business Consulting. The Retail
Barometer gives a unique view of platinum demand from the retail sales perspective and trade sentiment
for the forthcoming year.
The research survey covered over 21 retail companies, with approximately 310 retail outlets across the
key platinum markets across India. The research was conducted between January and February 2016.
Key Highlights of the Report
 Platinum Jewellery was the bright spark for the industry with a retail sales growth of +24% in
2015. It was also the only category to consistently grow every quarter
 PGI’s Strategic Partners have delivered a growth of 25% at an all India level
 Platinum jewellery is on a growth curve with growing consumer acceptance, increasing
distribution and successful branded programs
 PGI Retail partners are optimistic about 2016 with all types of jewellery, but especially platinum
and diamond jewellery. Forecasted a growth rate of 23% with Strategic Partners estimating a
higher growth of 25% in 2016
The key findings of Retail Trade Barometer for India are:
Platinum Jewellery (PJ) trends 2015
 Platinum rings and bands launched in 2009 on the back of Platinum Day of Love, is now
considered a main stay category, though there is still potential to drive incremental volumes.
There is a high acceptance of platinum in the category of Couple Bands due to the PDOL campaign
 Platinum Evara the bridal jewellery brand was launched early last year, Evara provides the
retailers with an opportunity to increase piece weight, margins and the size of their platinum
business
 The Evara advertising and marketing program has driven both consumer enquiry and sales for
Evara and also had a positive effect on driving men’s jewellery sales
 Although Evara is still in the nascent stage of the product life cycle it has seen great response
from consumers. Retailers are of the opinion that it will typically take about 2 years to establish a
brand
 Increasing acceptance of platinum by men has ensured a high growth in Men’s Jewellery fuelling
the growth of plain platinum sales which now contributes to 47% of sales
 Platinum jewellery grew by 24%, out of this 53% was dominated by studded platinum jewellery
Overall Jewellery Category
 Jewellery demand rebounded in H2 CY15. Q4 pushed sales and improved consumer sentiment.
However, sales for the heavy bridal sets, the mainstay of most retailers was much lower in 2015
 The primary focus for retailer’s remained in the bridal segment which contributes to 60% of the
overall jewellery market in India.
 The retailers reported a gold jewellery growth of 8% while diamonds were flat
International Retail Barometer Findings
The research survey covered over 400 jewellery retail companies with approximately 23,000 retail
outlets in the four main international markets of China, India, Japan and the USA. The research was
conducted between January and February 2016.
 The low platinum price has created a buying opportunity for more consumers, as well as a margin
opportunities for retailers
 In China retailer chains and PGI’s strategic partners significantly outperforming the market
 In Japan demand for platinum jewellery coupled with a shift in share of heavier product led to an
overall growth of +2.7%
 In the US market had an overall growth of +10%, owing to the low platinum prices
Huw Daniel, CEO of PGI, commented, “Despite manifold challenges in the luxury category and a difficult
year for jewellery in general, jewellery retailers vested in platinum have weathered the storm ahead of
their peers. The historically low platinum metal price has benefitted consumers and retailers alike,
presenting a unique opportunity to acquire the most aspirational fine jewellery. India is a very exciting
market and PGI is bullish about the prospects here, particularly in the light of the launch of the new bridal
segment, Platinum Evara. Due to our constant efforts the Indian platinum jewellery market grew by 24%,
outperforming the forecast. We look forward to strong growth numbers in 2016.”
Vaishali Banerjee, Country Manager India, PGI said, “Platinum has seen an excellent growth of 24%,
despite it being a very challenging year. Insight based focused strategies has helped us deliver growth last
year. We fuelled the desire for platinum, by creating new jewellery occasions and fulfilled unmet consumer
demands through each of our brands. Through our communication we focused on establishing Evara as a
wedding jewellery. And to enhance our reach further, we created a robust digital strategy in jewellery
space which is crucial to engage with our core target group. And lastly, we established platinum as the
most emotional jewellery metal that can drive higher margins for our trade making platinum both
strategic and integral to their business.”
She further added, “The outlook for 2016 is optimistic given that young India resonates with platinum.
Through our initiatives and strategies we will continue to build further momentum.”
Vijay Jain, CEO, ORRA said, “While there was an overall slowdown in gold and diamond jewellery sales in
2015, platinum sales saw a robust growth of 24%. Apart from the mainstay category of Love Bands, we
have seen an excellent response for Evara, which had a positive rub off on Men’s Jewellery. Although at a
nascent stage, Platinum Evara provides great opportunity for retailers to increase their average unit price
and hence the overall sale of platinum.”
Joy Alukkas, Chairman & MD, Joyalukkas Group, said, “Joyalukkas was one of the first brands in India to
launch platinum jewellery. Rings, mainly wedding and engagement bands was popular when we
introduced platinum jewellery, however at present, our stores are selling a wide range of platinum
jewellery for both men and women. Post launch of Evara, in our stores last year, we have seen
considerable growth in demand for platinum jewellery, especially from customers shopping for bridal
jewellery. Evara is a fairly new brand, so we believe, with a wider awareness the brand has the potential to
grow in a very big way in the long run. We saw a 30% growth in Platinum jewellery at our showrooms last
year and we feel in 2016 the growth will be even better.”
Kalpanik Choksi, Managing Director, I H Jewellers, Ahmedabad said, “Modern designs combined with the
subtle look of platinum has found appeal amongst young men which has helped increased demand for
men’s jewellery at our stores. Evara has helped us increase the choice we offer our consumers in the bridal
jewellery space. We are very excited with the consumer response for Evara. With increase in sales of
men’s jewellery and Evara, we have seen a growth of 50% in platinum sales.”
Pratap Madhukar Kamath, Managing Director, Abaran Timeless Jewellery Pvt Ltd said, “Platinum as a
category has been growing YOY for us despite gold and diamonds having dropped. We have maintained
an optimum stock level across our stores and good marketing support from PGI has helped us achieve
good sales. We look forward to a great season of sales ahead.”
Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold & Diamonds said, “As we expanded our presence in
Mumbai & Bangalore, we ensured we took platinum to these cities. Platinum jewellery sales has grown by
over 25% across our stores. Rings are the fastest moving categories in platinum followed by earrings &
pendant sets. We have also seen increase in men buying into platinum chains and bracelets. With the
increasing awareness amongst consumers in tier 2 & 3 towns, we see opportunity this year to introduce
platinum in our stores in these cities.”