On Gudi Padwa,gold sale offers bright spot in slow market

Steady and comparatively low gold rates coupled with rumours that traders will again down shutters in protest against local bodies tax spurred the gold sales.

Vastupal Ranka,partner,Ranka Jewellers,said customers thronged the shop till late night to take advantage of the auspicious occasion.

“We registered good sales as the rates have come down after a long time. Also,people rushed to buy gold in anticipation of traders strike,” he added. Siddharth Atul Shah,director,Chandukaka Saraf,said,“We registered more sales than we predicted. People were also eager to try our new line of jewellery,” he said.

Vaijayanti Shewade,general manager sales,B U Bhandari Automotive Pvt Ltd,said they delivered 80 cars on Thursday and received 25 fresh bookings.

“This year,the sales have gone down by 30 per cent. The general market sentiments are not very positive,” she said.

In Agreement with Shewade,Jyoti Shinde,sales consultant at Sanjay Hyundai store,said they delivered 80 cars and booked around 12. “The market is slow as compared to last year,” she said.

However,some automobile dealers witnessed an upswing with a steady flow of customers.

Vinod Kale,assistant general manager,Wonder Cars,said they delivered more than 180 cars and received many orders for Akshaya Trithiya.

With 300 deliveries of two-wheelers,the sales matched expectations for My Wings Pvt Ltd.

Sales head Santosh Padwal said that Gudi Padwa turned out to be a good day for them than last year. “A majority of customers bought Activa or Dream Yuga bikes,” he added.

The festival did not bring much joy for durable goods retailers. Mahesh Rudrawar,owner of D M R Electronics,said the situation was bleak.

“Generally on Gudi Padwa we are occupied with customers but this year we hardly had any. We expected to sell around 30 refrigerators or LCDs and had stocked accordingly but people are in no mood to shell out money,” he said.