Vicenza. Today (Saturday, 6th September Ed.) Choice, the autumnal encounter with the gold and jewellery world, got underway. 1,567 exhibitors were present (+7.9% from the September 2007 event), with an increase in the number of both Italian and foreign companies (around 400 from approximately 30 countries), which now represent over a quarter of the total.
28,000 square metres of exhibitive space (+13%), subdivided into the traditional trade show quarter and the entirely new Glamroom space, the fashionable core of the event. A tightly packed calendar of events, conventions and artistic performances will witness jewellery – from today to the 10th September – becoming the protagonist and Fiera di Vicenza the privileged stage where the sector’s latest tendencies will be played out.
During the 5 days of the event, around 16,000 qualified dealers and 600 Italian retailers are expected to attend, kick-starting the re-ordering season in view of the Christmas shopping to come.
The opening ceremony’s honorary guest, together with Fiera Vicenza’s President Dino Menarin, Managing Director Domenico Girardi, civil and military authorities and the sector’s dealers and professional associations, is a delegation of institutional representatives from Oman, a rich Sultanate from the Arabic peninsula, which constitutes one of the most significant end markets for gold jewellery Made in Italy.
Extensively revamped in both organisation and message, Choice welcomes dealers with an even more varied physiognomy and highly charming appeal, confirming the strategy that aims to see events branded Fiera di Vicenza become evermore original and high-impact, able to interpret the thousand facets of jewellery: from “dream” pieces – the greatest expression of luxury – to easy jewellery that is more suited to the fashion-savvy public, to the best expressions of handcrafted gold Made in Italy.
After a long period of difficulty, some signs of an upturn in the global consumption of gold have been registered. The first 2008 semester closed in a decidedly negative manner for the market with an average 24% decline, China being the only exception. The fall in demand has had a heavy impact of the Italian gold sector, which registered a fall in exports numbering 15% in value and 30% in volume (Fedeorafi data).
Today, however, prospects appear to be changing, although caution is always necessary.
This summer’s recovery in sales by India and Turkey does not seem to be an isolated case: more encouraging predictions are originating from the European market too, thanks to a slight boost in consumption – favoured by a fall in gold prices – that might continue into the second semester.
The recovery in the value of the dollar relative to the Euro is favouring the fall in gold prices, but hopes lie primarily with American buyers who, thanks to the greater value of the green bill, should once again show interest in the European jewellery market.
Further signs of regained confidence are awaited from Choice, the event that Fiera di Vicenza wanted to be new in content and style, confirming its efforts in innovation through exhibitive formulae with high image and service content.
Confirmation also comes from the experimentation of Glamroom, the new space-event that was designed and planned by Aldo Cibic & Partners and is dedicated to fashion jewellery and trend collections. Highly suggestive backdrops serve to frame this new way of conceiving of a piece of jewellery as a matter of fashion, of style, as a way of interpreting the consumer’s taste.
“The choice we made – explains Dino Menarin, President of Fiera di Vicenza – was born out of long deliberations with companies, buyers and consumers. The idea of Glamroom is catchy, but it’s also concretely oriented towards business, and we expect that this is the very place that will create a new opportunity for the sector’s revival”.
It is this very focus on modernity, along with the will to find differentiated loci for the jewellery “product” that opens up new scenarios, oriented towards a clientele that operates in global department stores, concept stores, slow stores, beauty shops, spas, resorts, art galleries and the world of duty free.
“We are convinced – Managing Director Domenico Girardi concludes – that the crisis can be averted by stimulating change and innovation: as Fiera di Vicenza, we’ve focused our attention on marketing, on targeted promotion and on the involvement of specialised distribution and new commercial dealers. We want to tie the gold market to its luxury and, more generally, high-end Made in Italy counterparts. Thanks to initiatives such as Choice, Glamroom and others to come, we can claim that, together with Los Angeles, Basel and Hong Kong, Vicenza is one of the sector’s points of reference on a global scale”.