A special post written by: Steven Silverstein, IDI New York's Managing Director
After getting back to reality after Vegas, I have had a chance to put-down some of my observations from the week's events.
The JCK show was either a marginal success, or a marginal failure - depending on whom you spoke to.
I met with several people, exhibitors and non-exhibitors, Israelis and Americans, and the general sentiment was that the show was obviously much more quiet than last year. That having been said, it was less quiet than many people expected; those who came expecting the worst - were pleasantly surprised.
One American wholesaler, with whom I shared the galley of the plane on the flight back to New York from the show (sorry FAA regulations and seatbelt signs - it was a long and delayed 6 hour flight...), said that this had actually been his best show in a number of years. He originally exhibited due to the "obligation" of participating (many felt it was a show you "had to do, regardless of whether you wanted to do it") but in reality he had made some new customers and several sales which were profitable.
Simplexdiam, which specializes in closeouts of jewelry, had a resounding success with their booth which sold such ex-bankruptcy items from Christian Bernard and other jewelry retailers who have recently shut their doors. So much so, said CEO Yogesh Madhvani, that "we had an average of 15 customers in the booth at all times". They reportedly sold more than 60% of their stock at JCK, and have recently purchased some additional 20,000 pieces of jewelry from the Colibri closings which will be added to existing inventory from Fortunoff and others. Simplexdiam's items are in increased demand; In today's economy, everyone likes a deal...
Those seemed to be the exceptions - and many people made their best profits in the casino at night rather than the Show during the day.
I recall, with fondness, the final day of the show, at 3:45pm when everyone was in the midst of packing up their showcases: I was in the 2000's aisle speaking to an American exhibitor when suddenly someone in the 3000's aisle burst into a round of applause. Everyone peered out from their booths to see what the commotion was and who was applauding - with questions of "what was that?" and "who was clapping", "does anyone know what just happened?". Without missing a beat, one exhibitor remarked "I think someone sold a stone" - which led to an eruption of laughter to lighten the mood.
Some of the various events and conferences were better attended than others. I attended the Jewelers for Children Cocktails, the LeVian/Harper's Bazaar Red Carpet Fashion Show, as well as the Women's Jewelry Association (WJA) Evening. Those were very crowded and well attended. These events all had one thing in common - an open bar, which was well anticipated after the hard days at the Show. The WJA evening had one more unexpected feature - 25% men which, attendees happily told me, was an unusually high male turnout for such gatherings.
IDI's Managment Team
On the other hand I was told that the Rapaport seminars, Indian Diamond Coloredstone Association Dinner, National Colored Diamond event, and others were much less attended. (There were even reports that some of the seminars were unable to draw panel participants.) What these had in common was that they were either planned over the weekend (when many had not yet arrived) or during the daytime (when most people were focusing on the show itself).
Networking, marketing, displays of new jewelry lines, and some socializing thrown in; all components of a successful Show. Not to mention the slot machines at the Venetian which saw their share of diamantaires - as the ups-and-downs were a throwback to the now familiar market environment.
Business by day, Vegas by night - all in all, another JCK experience which was far from uneventful...
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