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RAPAPORT... Tara Jewels Ltd. reported that sales, excluding bullion, rose 7.4 percent year on year to $62.6 million (INR 3.85 billion) in the second quarter that ended on September 30. Net profit slipped 3.6 percent to $1.72 million (INR 106 million).
The company recently launched six new shop-in-shop format outlets at Shoppers Stop -- in DB City Mall, Bhopal; Elante Mall, Chandigarh; BPK Star Building, Indore; World Trade Park, Jaipur; MBD Neopolis Mall, Jalandhar; and Ambuja City Center, Raipur. This new smaller format store is inline with the retailer's strategy to expand its footprint but with lower capital allocation. Rajeev Sheth, the chairman and managing director of Tara Jewels, said, “In the international market we are seeing revival in the key markets of the U.S. and Europe and we believe that this trend will continue. We have also signed licensing deals with international designers, thus increasing our presence in the branded jewelry space. Going forward, we plan to move most of our international business in this direction. Our international order book continues to be robust with the approaching festive season worldwide. We expect to reap the benefits of this in the next quarter and expect a revival in consumer buying sentiment in India as well.” India's domestic retail division has been extremely encouraging for jewelry sales during the traditional festive season, he added. But challenges remain due to regulatory issues, although there has been some easing in gold supply allocations, he said. Vikram Raizada, the executive director and CEO for the retail division, said, “We are very pleased with the performance of the domestic retail business this quarter. Markets appear to be showing signs of revival and spending on jewelry is expected to increase with the upcoming wedding season.”
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