The Sokolniki Exhibition Center accommodated the Jeweller-3 International Show held on December 4 to 14. However, this time the exhibition could hardly be called “international” since the greater part of its floor was occupied by stands rented by jewelry manufacturers from Yakutia and Kostroma. There were no Italian, Turkish or Asian jewelers taking part in this event, although they had been seen around in great numbers at Sokolniki in previous years. We were able to spot only one Israel and one Czech company there. Rough&Polished asked their representatives about how jewellers were getting on in crisis times and whether they already felt the benefits of decreased import duties for gems promised to be introduced in Russia.
“We do not know anything about it,” Maria, the manager of Israeli company DEN'O said. “Meanwhile, we are paying to the customs more and more.”
How is crisis affecting you?
“Although all of us are novices to the market, our sales are going fine,” DEN'O’s manager remarked. “I think that silver jewelry which we are selling is not the least reason to explain this because there is a growing demand for silver at the moment.”
Andrey, representing Happy Garnets, a Prague-based jewelry firm, complained: “We are dealing only with semiprecious stones, and did not feel any customs remission related to imported gems. As for how our colleagues are getting on in crisis time in the Czech Republic, I cannot say anything since we just represent this company in Russia. But here the company’s turnover has essentially decreased because of the crisis. Even the pre-Christmas exhibition which traditionally involves many buyers does not stand any comparison with the last year's – just poles apart. We are keeping afloat and somehow manage to survive. But I can’t afford filling up my car with 98 RON anymore, so I have to ride on 95.”
Stands displayed by Russian retail companies produced a bit discouraging impression because of such eye-catching ads like: “60% discounts for diamonds from Italy.”
Commenting one of such posters at the stand of Etalon-Stil, its manager Natalia explained: “We imported the Italian collection a long time ago and so far we are not going to buy anything from abroad. This is why we introduced these discounts – we are just selling out what remained of it. We did not notice any changes in the customs legislation in our company’s business.”
Other companies are busy doing the same thing – for instance, Gold-Line, a retail network. “Yes, we are selling out Italian collections, and we do not plan to bring anything from abroad in the near future. Of course, the crisis affects our retail trade. Even the period before the New Year did not essentially change anything – there are fewer buyers, including those visiting this exhibition, than one year ago,” Nadezhda, Gold-Line’s manager, said.
For the first time during the last several years the exhibition was given only one hall out of three. And it would be wrong to say there was some kind of consumer rush in it. This was noticed not only by our correspondent, but by other participants of the exhibition as well.
“This show gives an expressly worse impression compared to the last year’s event – there is a definitely thinner foot traffic accordingly bringing in fewer buyers and prospect customers for us,” Olga Semina, the manager of Pomelnikov, Saint Petersburg’s jewelry designer brand said. “The period before the New Year is always charged with shopping excitement and generates high demand. But this year it is much lower. Our products are also different in that they are made according to their authors’ sketches. These are exclusive works, and many of them exist in single copies. People are still attracted by diamonds as well, and our collections fascinate visitors at the exhibition. Simply by far not everyone can afford buying them.”
But was it only the crisis to turn the once prominent jewelry exhibition facility in Moscow into a dull provincial event? Simultaneously with Jeweller-3, there was a new jewelry show, Best Jewelry Pieces of Russia, held at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre. It attracted much more foreign companies and visitors as well. The participants of the show at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre emphasized the efforts of its organizers to “spin off” this exhibition facility in mass-media, which certainly lured many buyers and business partners. Whereas in Sokolniki the only journalist working at the show, who happened to be your correspondent from Rough&Polished, was approached by security people and rather unkindly asked to put away her dictaphone and camera. “This is a closed event and any information about it is forbidden,” the hard-baked uniformed person growled on our way to the administration office. The administration mercifully recovered my faculty of speech – that is the opportunity to talk to exhibitors. As it turned out it was possible to take pictures here as well, but this was granted to one person only – a certain Mr. Shabelnikov, a photographer from a design studio bearing a highly creative name of A. Shabelnikov. Referring to some “international standards for holding jewelry exhibitions” I was suggested to pay 2000 roubles for a disk with official shooting. Well, everything then clicked into place – “standards” were always standard…
Anna Tishinski, Rough&Polished, Moscow – Sokolniki
