Last Call for Trade Fairs: Adapt or Perish

Image credit: ArcturianKimona (Pixabay)

(thediamondloupe.com) - Four years ago, I wrote an article on The Diamond Loupe entitled: “Greetings from Underworld – Baselworld 2016 meets (modest) expectations”, a title that left little to the imagination. At that time, like many others, I was frustrated with having to spend astronomical amounts of money on lodgings (for lack of a better word) on a boat, coffees and sandwiches with price tags that would make one think they were made of gold and diamonds, all the while witnessing first-hand how our Antwerp diamond companies, alongside many others, were stuffed in overpriced, ugly booths in a hall that was basically a shabby basement, ill-signaled, across the street from BaselWorld’s grand and dazzling halls. For those who missed it, the future of BaselWorld currently is highly uncertain after a number of the fair’s most prestigious brands announced they would no longer be part of the show. It looks like many smaller brands and exhibitors are following suit, and the 2021 edition has been officially cancelled. Organizer MCH’s unwillingness to refund down payments for the cancelled 2020 show was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, and that sentiment doesn’t just apply for BaselWorld.