The sales figures would put any recession into depression. Lucknow, on Dhanteras, splurged like never before and broke all records when it came to buying diamonds, gold silver, utensils, cars, bikes, and home appliances.
According to estimates received by different trader associations in the city, nearly 300 kg of gold was sold in a single day while 650 kg of silver was lapped up by customer, the high prices of these precious metals notwithstanding.
“One customer purchased a gold necklace weighing 300 gm that cost him around `7.9 lakhs. This was the single highest gold purchase made on Dhanteras. Another customer purchased a diamond necklace valued at ` 17 lakhs. Both these purchases were made with cash,” said a leading jeweller in Lucknow, while refusing to disclose the identities of these customers.
Lucknow spent `6 crores on home appliances on Wednesday, with LCD TV sets recording an all time high sale. “This time it was a case of the bigger being the better. The maximum demand was for 40-inch TV sets and we have already run out of stocks. Washing machines, microwaves, music systems and food processors were also sold in good measure,” said a salesman.
Utensils that are considered a traditional buy on Dhanteras recorded good sales. The utensil market recorded sales worth `3.5 crores. In 2009, the utensil sale had been pegged at `1.5 crores. Lucknow that is constantly battling with traffic jams, added more than 1,100 four wheelers and 2000 two wheelers on the roads on Wednesday.
Maruti sold the maximum number of 500 cars on Dhanteras, Hyundai sold 280 cars, Tata Motors sold 250 cars, Mahindra sales were at 70 cars while Honda sold 80 four wheelers in a single day. In the two wheeler segment, Hero Honda sold 1,000 bikes while other company sales were also over 500 bikes and Activa sold 500 two wheelers.