Jewellery sector to shine despite duty hike and regulatory issues, says Stephen Lussier of De Beers

Increase in gold duty proposed in the Union budget and hike in taxes on the wealthier segments of the population are unlikely to hurt the jewellery sector, Stephen Lussier, Executive VP, Marketing, De Beers Group, said.

“We look at these factors as things we do not control. We focus on what we can control. Over the last few years, there have been a number of regulatory issues which have impacted the jewellery sector. But we, by focusing on what we do well at the Forever Mark brand, have been able to see strong growth,” he pointed out.

According to Lussier, diamond prices have been pretty steady and the company will look for opportunities in the future. “We have seen some slowdown towards the end of last year and into the beginning of this year in China probably due to the impact of trade conflict between the US and China. That is putting a bit of a drag on the jewellers’ desire to build inventories and that is key to price growth,” he observed.

Courtesy: CNBCTV18