The Economic Outlook For 2017

With the last year ending on a weak note, the industry is adopting new strategies to hedge risks in 2017.

- Nisha Shroff

If 2016 served as a bellwether for things to come, then luxury businesses need to girdle up their garters to meet the challenges thrown at them in 2017. According to the World Bank, there will only be a moderate pick up in global economic growth. The organisation has forecasted a 2.7 per cent growth as compared to a 2.3 per cent growth in 2016, thanks to Brexit and the arrival of Donald Trump at The White House.

For India, the World Bank has cut the forecast from 7.6 per cent to seven per cent, on account of demonetisation, a more generous figure than Fitch’s prediction of 6.9 per cent. Fitch stated that there were considerable uncertainties over the potential positive effects of demonetisation. With the proposed implementation of GST in the second half of the year, one can expect more churn in the economy. Despite this, it is clear that there is a lot to look forward to. The industry is optimistic and is taking steps to become more accessible to a diverse audience in a luxury marketplace.

Gautam Ghanasingh CEO and Creative Director, Ghanasingh BE TRUE

We are approaching the coming year with a positive outlook. Ghanasingh BE TRUE is going to take this opportunity to double its turnover with an e-commerce site for the brand. Demonetisation has definitely impacted our sales, and due to the volatile environment we have to work extremely hard to push sales and get back the momentum.

We have taken some immediate measures for now and have curated collections which fall in the ₹2 lakh or less bracket. This makes fine jewellery more accessible. Demonetisation has impacted the entire economy, which poses a challenge, but once the GST is introduced, it will eliminate multiple taxes, which will be beneficial for the business.

Shehla Khan Designer, Shehlaa