“The events industry was one the first to be severely impacted by the global pandemic with all the popular trade fairs being cancelled or postponed. And while we should not get ahead of ourselves and be overly optimistic, we are making plans for the Sydney trade show [the IJWF] to go ahead in mid-September,” Fitz-Roy said.
As previously reported, this year’s IJWF will be held 12–14 September and as an added attraction for retailers, for the first time the Spring Gift & Lifestyle Fair will run concurrently with IJWF at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Darling Harbour.
Fitz-Roy explained that many country jewellers stock gift products alongside fine and fashion jewellery, and increasingly suppliers are expanding their ranges to include quality gift and lifestyle products which means that they often had to “choose one show over the other”.
“It was our vision that we needed to make it easier [to attend fairs] for retailers who carry both gift lines and jewellery, especially country stores, as well as exhibitors. It’s about having a solution that is time and cost-effective, convenient, easy and more effective for all,” he said.
“Suppliers need to stay connected with their customers and we think it will be sometime before buyers are feely able to venture overseas looking for new products, however a trip to Sydney to meet colleagues in five months’ time could be the very thing the industry needs.”
Fitz-Roy added, “We understand that the virus may change the way trade shows are conducted, so we may have to implement a number of new ways of working to meet the current situation. It’s about being ‘solutionists’.”
Indeed, due to the cancellation of many international fairs, Fitz-Roy explained that the IJWF is starting to receive inquiries from overseas suppliers.
“That’s good news for buyers. And I’m quite sure that the buying groups will be out in full force too, given that many of their own conferences and buying days have been cancelled. It was great to see the entire industry unite together under one roof last year where all buying was conducted on the fair floor. There is even more need this year.”
Additionally, Expertise Events has produced two documents to assist jewellery businesses to come out of the global crisis when government-imposed restrictions are eased.
“We are a small family Australian business just like all of our exhibitors and visitors, so we recognise the importance of keeping communication, sales, and networking channels open, and the need to come together to re-connect and re-build our businesses. In the coming weeks we are issuing our Bounce Back strategy. It offers lots of tips and advice on how to survive and thrive after the global pandemic,” Fitz-Roy said.
“In May we will release to the suppliers our top 10 ‘Exhibitips’ which provide a framework to again think about how you can review your presence at a show to make it work for you.”
He stressed that everything should be kept in perspective given that the impact of the global pandemic changes on a daily basis. “Our role as an event organiser is to take a proactive leadership role and while as of today some things are still not 100 per cent clear, such as mass gatherings, I would like to highlight it’s the middle of April and five months before the Fair.
“A lot has happened in just one month and we must keep that in context as no doubt a lot will happen in the next month!”
For more information on registrations for the International Jewellery & Watch Fair, visit www.jewelleryfair.com.au.
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