IIJS Opens to High Expectations

India’s most important jewelry show, the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), opened Thursday morning to large attendance and heavy security.

IIJS 2008 was officially inaugurated at the NSE Complex in Mumbai this morning, in the presence of government officials, ambassadors and industry members. Organizers expect 30,000 visitors to attend the show, visiting booths of some 750 exhibitors, 500 from India and 250 from other countries.

Speaking at the inauguration, GJEPC Chairman Sanjay Kothari had suggested that cooperation of industry associations and major players across categories for a united promotion of jewelry was the only way to combat the increasing competition for the consumer’s interest from other market segments like luxury goods, electronic items etc.

In response, Rio Tinto Diamonds Managing Director Bill Champion suggested that the company was willing to commit resources to such an initiative as “coming together makes business sense.” However, he added that there are many complexities that need to be addressed before such a platform could take shape.

Extending his support to the suggestion, Philip Olden, MD and CEO of World Gold Council, said that all players across the supply chain would have a common interest in boosting jewelry sales but stressed that the involvement of retailers was crucial, as they were important stakeholders.

“The retail segment must come together to promote jewelry more effectively,” he said, giving the example of the Lucky Lakshmi India’s Jewellery Festival  organized by the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation as a positive step.

On behalf of the Platinum Guild International, CEO James Courage said promotion of jewelry had a lot to do with enhancing the consumer’s shopping experience. Noting that PGI already has a “formidable amount of information about consumer behavior” from its research, he said it would be willing to share if the industry developed a common platform for promotions.

After a series of terrorist attacks in the country in the past few weeks, security was bolstered this year. A range of security measures was added and the number of security personnel is larger than what has ever been employed at the show before.

With a middle class population of some 200 million, India became an important selling center after decades of being a key global manufacturing and trading center. Italy, Belgium, Thailand, Turkey and Israel are targeting the country and all five will have pavilions at IIJS.

The show, currently the fourth largest annual trade show, will close Monday August 11.