During Chinese New Year Jewelry Sales +16%
By Avi Krawitz www.diamonds.net
Chinese consumers celebrated the Year of the Dragon and drove retail sales higher by 16.2 percent year on year to $74.6 billion (CNY 470 billion) during the traditional New Year Golden Week.
The country’s Ministry of Commerce reported jewelry sales grew 16.4 percent during the week that began January 23, with gold bars, gold ingots and other dragon-themed jewelry ranking among the favorite items. The report noted that there were strong promotional activities during the festival too, especially along the dragon theme, which played well for the jewelry sector.
Rapaport Research indicated that jewelry sales were driven by strong gold demand while diamond sales were stable.
Electronics and home appliances were also strong sellers with 3D TV, single lens reflex camera’s and Apple’s newly released iPhone4 proving to be popular items.
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