Qatar’s gold market is steadily witnessing an upward sales trend in the lead-up to the country’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is slated from November 21 to December 18.
While the summer months are considered off-season as schools are closed, temperatures are high, and many people are out of the country on vacation, Shine Gold & Diamonds marketing head – Gulf Region Sameer Adam told Gulf Times Wednesday that there has been a surge in crowds in Doha.
“For the coming period, we feel very positive…if you’re getting good business during the off-season, then we are definitely feeling upbeat about the business during the peak season. On top of that, we are expecting many people to travel in for the World Cup,” Adam explained.
He said the World Cup is an opportunity to push further growth in the gold and jewellery market. “Many people will be browsing around and visiting a lot of places during the tournament, so there is always a chance for tourists to buy,” he explained.
Considering the category of people coming into the country for the World Cup, Adam noted that they would be mostly from the younger age group “who may not be serious gold buyers.”
“We are not expecting all of them to buy gold jewellery but at least if, say, 10% of the more than 1.5mn World Cup visitors and fans would be willing to buy, then that is a big quantity.
“Naturally, the months of November to February are considered as peak season, but since the World Cup will be attracting more people into the country, it is expected that sales would be really high,” he also said.
According to Adam, jewellery shops would be capitalising on the influx of tourists during the World Cup by offering different promotions. He said raffle draws and ‘scratch and win’ promos are usually offered in the winter season, but there would also be different promos related to the World Cup, as well.
In the first half of 2022, Adam pointed out that gold sales surged 40% to 50% higher over 2020 and 2021 because of pandemic-related issues that had affected the market in the past two years.
“The usual year-on-year growth trend would be around 10% to 15% but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the market witnessed a slowdown,” he said.
Adam also said Ramadan and the Eid holidays are favourite occasions for people to buy gold, irrespective of their religious backgrounds. Peak months for jewellery stores in Qatar are from November to February, while the ‘slack period’ is between June and August, he said.
“But in between, if there is Ramadan and Eid, there would be good business during that period. However, during the slack period – when schools are closed and when people are on vacation abroad, we still generate business because when these people travel, they still buy jewellery,” he said.
Adam emphasised that it is “definitely a good time” to buy gold in Qatar: “Gold is not just an ornament but it is also an investment any time. If you look at gold prices, the graph usually shows an upward trajectory. It is also easy to liquidate unlike other investments, such as real estate, for example. You can sell gold right then and there.”
