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Outlook on Luxury: Setting a new path for gems

Jewellers believe a rebound is imminent but are still waiting to press the 'reset' button

Helmi Yusof

Published Thu, May 14, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Covid-19

Can the jewellery market rise from the ashes of the pandemic to stage its own rebirth? Some industry players think so. Just last week, Bain & Company gave a grim assessment of the luxury market, predicting a contraction of between 20 to 35 percent for the full year.

But in China, wild post-lockdown shopping sprees have given players reasons to believe a global rebound is just around the corner.

Jean-Christophe Babin, Bvlgari's CEO, says: "We initially closed 50 percent of Bvlgari stores in China's peak, while the rest of the world went on. After the crisis had passed in China, we reopened everything and saw excellent results - greater than the previous year. At the sam…