Exclusive interview with Mr. Marco Carniello, Global Exhibition Director (Jewellery & Fashion) of Italian Exhibition Group
What will be the key features of the Jan 2023 edition of Vicenza oro - the Jewellery boutique show?
Vicenzaoro January is the first trade show of the year, well known for being “the show of trends”. “Discover more”, the claim of this edition, is an invitation to explore the design and market trends by leading Made in Italy brands and international maisons that will influence the new season, which will be at the heart of the show.
With over 1,300 exhibiting brands from 36 countries around the world (60% is from Italy), Vicenzaoro is now the first show in Europe in terms of numbers of exhibiting brands and representativeness of the entire supply chain and among the top biggest shows in the world. Buyers can find high-end and gold jewellery, all of Made in Italy production from the main national manufacturing districts and product previews from the leading international companies, components and semi-finished products, diamonds, precious and coloured stones as well as services, visual merchandising and packaging. T.GOLD, number one international showcase for innovation, held concurrently, is showcasing the most advanced technologies for production and processing thanks to almost 170 exhibitors and an exhibition space expanded by 10%. Contemporary watchmaking supplychain is debuting thanks to the new TIME community, while vintage watches and jewellery are staged at the fourth edition of VO Vintage B2C market place. The show has established itself as a pivotal European hub for world jewellery trade, but also as a cultural and networking hub. All the hot topics of the industry will be discussed by opinion leaders, influencers, entrepreneurs who join the scheduled seminars and talks: market evolution, sustainability, luxury forecasts, professional training etc.
And Italian Exhibition Group is improving the show at each edition with new formats, projects and services for exhibitors, buyers and visitors, so that their visit to Vicenzaoro is increasingly effective and efficient. For example, buyers can take advantage of Vicenzaoro's LUXURY HUBS, selected “VO Approved” hotels in neighbouring cities, with special rates and connections to the show. And outside the venues, the extraordinary historical, artistic, cultural and food abundance of the city of Vicenza and the Land of Venice make the Vicenzaoro experience truly unique.
How many brands and trade visitors do you expect at this early 2023 edition?
See above
You have hosted the first edition of any Jewellery show globally, since the pandemic pressure was released in Sept 2021. How important was this decision and how did it help to emphasis the role of VO as a leading hub for the Jewellery business.
You are right. We have been the only show which achieved in organizing face-to-face events -with the maximum level of safety protocols- even during the pandemic. Italian Exhibition Group has made great efforts to be able to offer the market and our companies, trade associations, institutions and media what they were asking us: the opportunity to meet, discuss and plan the restart. Although with low numbers at the beginning, it has been so important for everyone to just be there and testimony to be part of a strong and resilient industry, to show the determination to go on, (we had about 400 exhibitors for VOICE in sept 2020, about 800 in sept 2021 for Vicenzaoro, about 1000 in March 2022). It has certainly helped us to consolidate our role as a strategic partner serving the market and we are very grateful for the trust the market has demonstrated in us. We are aware that we were able to give an effective contribution to the restart thanks to a prompt response to the needs of the market, and all the players have recognized to our Group the flexibility necessar to move in a scenario of great uncertainty and sudden changes. We have also managed to launch several new formats in the last two years, and the enthousiastic response of the industry confirms we are in the right direction. With the last Vicenzaoro September edition we exceeded the attendance of 2019 and in a few days will will inaugurate a January edition featuring record numbers of exhibitors and international participation. Vicenzaoro is now the first show in Europe in terms of numbers of exhibiting brands and representativeness of the entire supply chain. So we keep looking ahead and working hard to deliver to the industry the best trade event in terms of business opportunities, professional training, deep inspirations, cutting edge innovation, valuable relations and reliable information!
The Jan edition will host the leading companies in the production of machinery and technologies for the sector, as well as the semi-finished products and components. How essential is this part of the exhibition for the global industry.
T.GOLD is the most important international showcase of advanced technologies for the jewellery industry and is back with an expanded offering: +10% exhibition space to host even more top jewellery industry players and showcase an even larger range of technologies, from casting to mechanical processing, digital prototyping and production, finishing, refining and recovery, bench tools and materials.Technology is a driver of innovation in the jewellery industry, capable of adding value to their entire production process. With T.GOLD we offer the best international platform for integrating technologies, a fully fledged business accelerator for companies who have founded their business on quality, sustainable processes and innovation. Vicenzaoro provides also a wide range of semi-finished products and components, from the best goldsmithing companies and manufacturers. In fact the “Jewellery Boutique Show” concept makes Vicenzaoro the only B2B event representing the best expressions of the jewellery industry along the entire value chain and gives to jewellery companies the opportunity to fine tune their own value chain with the highest quality suppliers, thus growing their own competitiveness.
The recent editions of Vicenza Oro attracted some international watch suppliers and manufacturers. In addition to the watch vintage/pre-owned section, would you intend to increase the exhibition space allocated for the watch industry in future editions?
We imagine Vicenzaoro to become Italy’s new watchmaking destination. In the last 3 years we have introduced completely new and innovative formats that mix B2B and B2C components with the introduction of cultural and training events and many opportunities for discussion and networking for journalists, professionals in the sector and enthusiasts. One of the new feature of Vicenzaoro January is the debut of a brand new B2B community for the watches segment, called TIME. It presents about fifty exhibitors representing the entire contemporary watchmaking supply chain: a selection of brands and micro-brands which includes also components, accessories, instruments and after-sales tools. From now on it will enrich Vicenzaoro's offer as a further business opportunity in IEG's watchmaking calendar that already includes B2C projects such as VO Vintage and VO'Clock Privé, scheduled to accompany the January and September editions of Vicenzaoro respectively. Next week the fourth edition of VO Vintage, Vicenzaoro’s marketplace for fine vintage watches and jewellery open to public, is running. It will last one day more than previous editions (from Friday 20th to Monday 23rd January) and it is improving its level of experience with new seminars in order to be more and more attractive to younger generations of watch lovers, timepiece collectors and vintage jewellery enthusiasts, but also to international buyers attending Vicenzaoro. IEG's format is becoming increasingly popular as an opportunity to explore watchmaking trends and culture, not only to purchase unique and valuable pieces from the best dealers and take part in a rich program of technical training, seminars and interviews with experts and trend setters.
Retail business is changing and it’s changing to meet the global customers’ requirements. What are your prospects and plans for e-exhibitions?
Physical trade shows and in person interaction have proven to be an essential marketing strategy tool for this (and any other) sector. We have been among the first to implement digital innovation and to conceive phygital events, but always keeping the focus on people and personal relations, direct contact, live experiences. As exhibitions organizers our role is to provide the industry with all the tools to understand what is happening in their market, on the global scenario, then to support innovation and competitiveness. Therefore at Vicenzaoro we discuss luxury consumption trends with the Trendvision events, we address more technical issues with the CIBJO seminars, we bring onstage experiences from experts and protagonists of the sector. Technology certainly helps to innovate and we were the first to develop tools to support our trade fairs. An example was the virtual buyers room with 3D shooting technology to show jewels online. Another example is the Jewellery Golden Cloud, our online platform that maximizes business matching between exhibitors and operators before, during and after the show. It also helps us to stream the contents of the event well beyond the fairgrounds.
Away from Italy and back to the Middle East, you have revealed recently that JGT Dubai will take a unique format in 2023. What are your plans to cement the success of this new B2B show offering?
Dubai is a step of our international development, which is one of the pillars of IEG’s strategy. One of the key success factors of Jewellery, Gem & Technology Dubai (JGT Dubai) is that it is the result of the joint effort of the partners involved: it is a joint venture of Informa Markets Jewellery – organiser of the world’s biggest fine jewellery marketplace, Jewellery & Gem WORLD Hong Kong (JGW), and Italian Exhibition Group SpA (IEG), organiser of Vicenzaoro. Their combined resources, global reach and local knowledge is further enhanced by the support of DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre), JGT Dubai’s Official Partner, and the Dubai Gold and jewellery Group (DGJG), the fair’s Industry Partner.
The second edition will be held from 12 to 14 February 2023 the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), 2023 and will feature about 400 major suppliers from more than 20 countries and regions, representing at least a 30% increase in exhibitor numbers compared with the 2022 inaugural show. The fully B2B format was appreciated. Wholesalers, importers, distributors, manufacturers and retailers from the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, all within 7 hours of flying time from “the city of gold” Dubai, are expect to attend.
JGT Dubai 2023 counts industry-leading companies representing the finished and semi-finished jewellery, loose gemstone and jewellery technology. It will also host the second annual JWA Dubai Awards Presentation Ceremony and Panel Discussion.
|