India International Jewellery Show was biggest edition so far
MUMBAI, August 2015 – The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) staged the 32nd edition of the annual India International Jewellery Show (IIJS), at the Bombay Exhibition Center in Mumbai from August 6-10, 2015 – the biggest edition of the show so far.
Pegged as the largest show in Asia, the IIJS was a great platform to explore the various aspects of the Indian gem & jewellery industry today.
Chief Guest – Mrs. Rita A. Teaotia, Commerce Secretary, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India, the Guest of Honour – Mr. Paul Rowley, Executive Vice President, De Beers, Global Sightholder Sales along with Vipul Shah, GJEPC inaugurated the IIJS.
Chief Guest – Mrs. Rita A. Teaotia, Commerce Secretary, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India, during her speech shared some insights about the Indian G&J industry and also commented on some of the industry demands from the Indian Govt.
Highlights from the speech:
• The Indian G&J story is built on a strong foundation of India’s love for jewellery which is evident from the performance and resilience that the sector has shown over a period of time.
• As far as the GOI’s initiatives, there has been continued support to the gem and jewellery industry and the GOI has been a strong partner to the industry. The implementation of the Kimberly Process reaffirms the commitment to all processes defined globally for the industry.
• The sector should work with financial institutions to build confidence and conduct genuine business to safe guard industry’s image.
• The GOI moved very quickly on the SNZ demand of the gem and jewellery sector and the execution is already underway. The GOI further hopes to announce reasonable and rationale taxation norms for the industry in due course of time.
• The 8 digit code and the interest subvention demands are being looked into and keeping in mind the degree of urgency and neediness of various sectors, the interest subvention scheme will be looked into for the gem and jewellery industry.Highlights from speech of the Guest of Honour – Mr. Paul Rowley, Executive Vice President, De Beers, Global Sightholder Sales
• Consumer demand for diamond jewellery at the end of 2014 wasn’t as strong as we had all hoped and growth has continued to be softer than expected so far through the course of 2015. Meanwhile the strength of the US dollar has also created a major impact on demand in non-US dollar denominated markets. Stock levels at both the retail and cutting center level have therefore stayed higher during the year so far – or atleast higher than desired in this environment. This has led to a lower level of demand for polished diamonds as there has apparently been limited desire to restock. Polished prices have therefore softened.
• The diamond industry has always been both seasonal and cyclical and we have certainly found ourselves going through a low point in the business cycle.
• The short term changes in light of the difficult trading environment by De Beers are :
o First, we have trimmed our 2015 production guidance from 32-34 million carats to 29-31 million carats in response to reduced Sightholder demand.
o We have repeatedly provided increased deferral flexibility in our Global Sightholder Sales
o Over the first half of 2015, we have continually adjusted our rough process based on prevailing market conditions whilst taking a long term, sustainable view on pricing.
• Buying of diamond jewellery at the retail level, which is ultimately the only true source of value in the industry, will, we estimate, at worst be flat on the level of $81 billion seen in 2014.
• We estimate that there is enough demand at the consumer level to ensure that better times will return once the challenges around inventory imbalances that have dogged the midstream so far this year have resolved themselves.
• India provides the heartbeat of the modern diamond world and the ability to maintain consumer confidence, the ability to innovate with technology and the ability to grow diamond value will play a central role in reviving the fortunes of the diamond industry.Mr. Vipul Shah, GJEPC, commented, “The Indian G&J has seen a slow growth in last few months this year, especially in terms of exports. However, with the Council’s efforts such as IIJS, IIJW and BSMs, we are optimistic that the business sentiments will gradually pick up towards the festive season and the outlook will be positive for the international and domestic retailers. We do not anticipate any major growth curves in next few months and we can safely predict a stable outlook for the Indian G&J industry. We believe in a long term perspective and IIJS will provide the industry with the much-needed vigor and positivity to gear up for better times ahead.”
By largely maintaining same space for old exhibitors; GJEPC has achieved 25% growth in exhibitors and 11% growth in booths. Promising to be another productive sourcing edition for industry professionals and retailers, the show had an array of activities like educational seminars, networking events, country pavilions. This year, the show expanded to 1,100+ exhibitors and 2,000+ booths by introducing 200 new booths and 175 new exhibitors out of which 50 companies were dealing in Studded Jewellery, 70 companies in Plain Gold Jewellery and 50 companies in Loose Stones.
