IIJS opens with call for generic jewelry promotion

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IIJS opens with call for generic jewelry promotion

By Michelle Graff

August 07, 2008

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Mumbai, India—Indian officials at the 25th annual India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), which opened today at the NSE Complex in Goreagon, Mumbai, are looking forward to a robust five days of business, despite the economic downturn in the United States and the high price of gas plaguing the jewelry industry worldwide.

The show runs through Aug. 11 and is expected to draw 30,000 visitors in that five-day time span, India's Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council Chairman Sanjay Kothari said during a ceremony marking the start of the show on Wednesday.

Kothari said the jewelry show includes a total of 250 international booths—up from 130 last year—and seven country pavilions, and is expected to draw 2,000 international visitors.

He expressed hope that the show would be successful for all involved, despite the current economic challenges.

"In spite of the fact we are passing through bad times...I have good faith in the industry," Kothari said. "There is day after night."

Kothari also called on the industry to band together worldwide to come up with a way to promote jewelry across the board.

He said the industry should form an international body to do so, much like the World Gold Council (WGC) or Platinum Guild International (PGI), which work to promote sales of their respective metals.

He said such a promotion would help "to see better times for all of us."

Several other jewelry industry officials backed Kothari, including WGC Managing Director Philip Olden, who noted that the problem is, consumers simply aren't buying jewelry.

He said the industry needs more support from retailers—not just producers—in launching an effort to promote jewelry industry-wide.

This is not the first time this year industry leaders have discussed the need for more generic jewelry promotion.

Earlier this year, officials in the diamond industry—which also lacks a promotional body like the WGC or PGI—began banding together to create a generic marketing campaign for the stones. The industry has long relied on De Beers to promote diamonds, something the company is scaling back on since the percentage of diamonds it controls worldwide has dropped.

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