VICENZAORO January boosts its role as global aggregator and business accelerator for the international gold and jewellery trade. The Trade Show, organised by Fiera di Vicenza, concluded on 27 January after a six-day event, dedicated to the presentation of new collections from the whole industry, new trends, and the presence of the key players in jewellery and the development of business relations between business and others in the trade, boosted by the the cutting-edge format VICENZAORO The Boutique ShowTM.
Special attention was reserved to the world of technology. The event was also the occasion for the 39th T-GOLD, the most important international show dedicated to machinery and technology for use in the gold and jewellery industry, located inside the Evolution district with 133 businesses, of which 111 Italian firms. VICENZAORO January 2016 has been an extremely positive occasion, both in terms of the feedback from exhibitors, buyers, visitors, opinion leaders and trendsetters from all of the main strategic countries in the sector, and in terms of attendance, as seen in the increasing figures.
The highly refined, contemporary context, that was extremely easy to navigate, saw 19,381 buyers, and over 35 thousand visitors, for an overall traffic increase of 5%. Trade was able to see the new products from 1500 brands from 31 countries and all of Italy’s gold districts, located in the 9 pavilions of Fiera di Vicenza, and covering 29000 sqm of net surface. To stress the increasingly international vocation of Fiera di Vicenza, is the 5% growth in the number of overseas buyers, with 8,774 from 130 countries. Italian operator numbers also increased +4.3% for a total of 10,607, a figure indicating possible recovery in the domestic market. Excellent signals have come from the technology sector, where Made in Italy represents global excellence.
When we look at buyers’ countries of origin, we can note the excellent performance of some countries in the Middle East, Egypt, Iran and the UAE, an area that is one of Made in Italy’s major partners in this sector. The trend for almost all GCC countries has also been positive. There has been strong growth in the number of operators from the USA, confirming the recovery of the American economy. The major European nations (Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, Germany, Great Britain, Holland and Poland) also show growth, while Russia is still showing signs of a shrinking economy. Also showing increases are Israel, India, Thailand, and Australia, as well as many Latin American countries. A drop was recorded in the number of buyers from China and Hong Kong, confirming the slowdown in the Chinese economy.
The President of Fiera di Vicenza, Matteo Marzotto had this to say: “We are particularly pleased with the results in terms of visitor figures for this VICENZAORO. It is the payoff for the hard work of the last few years, in terms of investment, vision, a brave innovation of format and the creation of an increasingly expert network. Both at national levels - and I am thinking of our recent alliance with Arezzo to create an Italian trade fair system for the industry - and at global levels, thanks to which we will be directly present on all of the main overseas markets in 2016. Fiera di Vicenza will be facing all of these new challenges with a conscious idea of service, to make VICENZAORO not only a brand for Vicenza and Italy, but above all, a symbol of all the major stakeholders in the world jewellery system, starting with the next VICENZAORO Dubai”.
The 2016 VICENZAORO January also saw the official launch of the new graphic look of VO+ magazine, the brand ambassador of “Beautiful and Well Made” in jewellery, a publication with over 30 years of history, presented in a new format to interpret the emerging trends in trade and lifestyle.
The central theme of VICENZAORO January 2016 was “The Golden Voices”. Fiera di Vicenza gave a voice to the most important stakeholders in the world of gold and jewellery, with a rich calendar of events, workshops, seminars and meetings. From the subjects of Corporate Social Responsibility, to the excellences of national and international manufacturing, and from tech innovations and manufacturing creativity to new trends in the industry and the marketplace, as well as the new dynamics in retail.
VICENZAORO January 2016 brought back the format VICENZAORO The Boutique ShowTM, first introduced in January 2015. The Fiera di Vicenza exhibition centre is set out as a genuine Jewellery City, divided into six clusters of businesses that are the same or similar, based on their reference values, positioning, organisation systems, types of production and overall image. Icon, Creation, Look, Essence, Expression, Evolution. The communities offer a comprehensive overview of the exhibition’s offer, trends and global marketplace. Buyers and purchasing groups were facilitated in the identification of the most suitable target companies, to optimise and simplify their business. All this was supported by efficient usability on the web and by the official VICENZAORO app, which allowed each visitor to create a customised business program focused on the tastes and needs of his/her target market.
The next date with world jewellery is the second VICENZAORO Dubai edition on 14-17 April 2016. The show, organised by DV Global Link, joint-venture between FIERA DI VICENZA and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), is a new business and relational platform for the areas of the Middle East, Eurasia, North and East Africa, and Central and Southern Asia. New for 2016 is the involvement of the whole jewellery community of Dubai, through the presence of the top players from the Gold Souk, world-famous gold market, which will boost the opportunities for business between retailers and suppliers. Between now and the end of March, we have a packed programme of Road Shows to present the event in 23 different countries and 31 cities in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, in order to bring in new buyers.
The most important events and projects of VICENZAORO January 2016 include the following highlights:
Presentation of the Agreement between Fiera di Vicenza and Arezzo Fiere e Congressi, fostered and supported by the Minister of Economic Development, thanks to which recognition of Italian jewellery will be boosted all over the world. The agreement includes coordinated management of the trade fair calendar for the industry for 2016-2017 and, as a final aim, the creation of a single trade fair platform for the Italian gold and jewellery sector, open to other national players.
Presentation of the international agenda of VICENZAORO for 2016:
- VICENZAORO in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show (3 – 7 March 2016);
- VICENZAORO Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (14 – 17 April 2016);
- VICENZAORO in Las Vegas at the JCK Show (31 May – 6 June);
- VICENZAORO in Mumbai at the India International Jewellery Show of Mumbai (August 2016).
The announcement of a partnership with the City Council of Vicenza for the project “The art of style”, involving a cycle of four exhibitions between 2017 and 2020, exploring the relationship between art, jewellery and fashion, to follow one another in the setting of the Palladian Basilica.
An international conference on corporate social responsibility within the jewellery industry, in conjunction with the CIBJO (World Jewellery Confederation), Gemfields, Branded Trust and other major players in the trade.
A seminar by TRENDVISION Jewellery + Forecasting, first and only think-tank to identify the trends and consumer attitudes in the jewellery, diamond and watchmaking world, which presented a preview of the consumer profile 2016. Visitors were able to view new trends, thanks to the TRENDBOOK 2017+, the essential guide that anticipates the styles destined to influence the industry over the coming months.
Inauguration of the exhibition “Skin: the surfaces of jewellery” at the Vicenza Jewellery Museum, which is open to the public until 1 May 2016. The exhibition, which includes works by over 70 established Italian and international artists and jewellery designers, illustrates the different interpretations of surfaces in contemporary jewellery, and in particular, brooches, using traditional and innovative techniques, through colour, structure and volume.
The 12th edition of the Jewellery Technology Forum (JTF) was held as part of T-GOLD. This is an international conference dedicated to new technologies and trends in the world of goldsmith production, organised by Fiera di Vicenza in conjunction with Legor Group SpA.
Photo credit: Contrasto
