Last month, the incumbent International Jewellery Fair (Expertise Events) and the emerging Jewellery Industry Fair (Jewellery Industry Network) occurred on the same weekend in Sydney.
It was an interesting ‘experiment’ given that two simultaneous Australian trade shows in the same city had never occurred before.
The Jewellers Association of Australia (JAA) did attempt to launch a second fair in 2017 and aimed to run on the same days of the Expertise Events fair; however, that endeavour failed.
The JAA’s failure inflicted significant division and disunity upon the industry – and upon itself - and as such, it was important that what unfolded in August was closely monitored.
Over the past three months, as a lead-up to this unusual situation, Jeweller has completed a like-for-like comparison of both events to provide readers with clarity about the circumstances of this rivalry.
Unsurprisingly, the weekend concluded with both event organisers claiming ‘success’; however, sifting through the ‘public relations’ spin is imperative to gain an understanding of the reality of the situation.
This series of articles has posed a serious question several times: Can the Australian jewellery industry support two fairs on the same weekend in the same city?
And, more importantly: Who really benefits from this situation?
It’s an important question to answer because of the impact it has on suppliers, retailers, and the broader industry and given these stakes, it’s a question that warrants a thorough analysis.
Numbers don’t lie... or do they?
As mentioned, in this analysis it was critical to remove as much misleading ‘spin’ and puffery from event organisers to assess the facts.
The term ‘puffery’ is important because the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) does not deem it to be illegal.
The ACCC considers puffery to be exaggerated claims and/or fanciful or vague statements that no reasonable person could take seriously or find misleading.
However, puffery can overstep the mark leading to a breaches of Australian Consumer Law.
Jeweller’s research began on 25 June, when it was discovered that the International Jewellery Fair website listed 134 exhibitors, while the Jewellery Industry Fair had 25. In a subsequent update on 19 July, those numbers were respectively revised to 145 and 32.
Following the completion of each event, a review of the exhibitor lists on both websites showed that the final tally was 151 supplier exhibitors for the International Jewellery Fair and 37 for Jewellery Industry Fair. (See Methodology & Maths in Part II)
Expertise Events managing director Gary Fitz-Roy kept things ‘low-key’ after the conclusion of the International Jewellery Fair.
“I think many people went into the weekend without high expectations because of the state of our current economy, and the majority of people I’ve spoken with since the fair has been very positive,” he previously told Jeweller.
“I think these ‘realistic’ or even pessimistic expectations have been largely exceeded because we’ve had reports of stronger written business than was anticipated, which is great to hear.”
On the other hand, according to a report in Jewellery World, the Jewellery Industry Fair was a “resounding success, marking a milestone for the industry with its vibrant showcase of innovation, craftsmanship.”
Interestingly, the report also stated that there were “more than 70 exhibitors and businesses”, which is not supported by the Jewellery Industry Fair website.
It listed only 52 businesses (not 70 ) of which only 37 were product suppliers, with the remaining being industry associations, along with director or family-related businesses. See table below.
It should be noted that Jewellery World magazine is owned by Laura Moore and Angkham Phanthapangna, the same people who own and operate the Jewellery Industry Fair.
This interconnection of various company interests by Moore and Phanthapangna has previously been noted. That is, many businesses on the Jewellery Industry Fair exhibitor list are directly connected to the directors of the event.
Indeed, the Centre Sydney was even listed as a Gold Sponsor for the Jewellery Industry Fair – despite being owned by the Jewellery Industry Network directors, while Jewellery World - also owned by Moore and Phanthapangna - has been listed as Sponsor of previous events.
No thank you, I’m just browsing
The International Jewellery Fair at Darling Harbour reported 3,996 registered visitors and 39 ‘walk-throughs’.
Expertise Events defines a ‘visitor’ as a retail buyer of jewellery products or services. This figure therefore does not include staff of exhibiting companies, as many stands have more than 10 employees in attendance.
The 39 ‘walk-throughs’ figure is mostly jewellery suppliers that have expressed an interest in exhibiting in the future. They are escorted through the fair floor by Expertise Events staff to review the event.
Historically, Expertise Events does not allow non-exhibiting suppliers to indvidually roam the fair floor. As an interesting aside, this has been a topic of debate in the industry for many years.
As a rule, non-exhibiting suppliers are not allowed to freely walk the fair to protect the interests of exhibitors. Generally speaking, it’s to ensure these non-exhibiting suppliers are not organising orders with retail buyers to the detriment of paid exhibitors.
Conversely, some exhibitors have complained about this rule because suppliers can, of course, do business with each other. An example of this might be a jewellery manufacturer that needs specific materials, such as findings, gemstones, or diamonds, from another supplier.
It has been suggested that this rule may come at a cost to exhibiting suppliers that could be selling to these non-exhibiting suppliers; however, the broader need to protect the interests of paid exhibitors was judged more important.
In the best interests of transparency, there was one last minute ‘no show’ international exhibitor at the Darling Harbour event. This is not uncommon at jewellery fairs worldwide and is often due to the company not being able to obtain visas for staff after having booked and paid for the exhibition space.
In a most unusual case more than 10 years ago, the International Jewellery Fair had a ‘no show’ African exhibitor. The people had obtained visa to enter the country to exhibit at the trade fair but Customs officials noticed that they were not carrying jewellery or gemstones for display at the event.
This raised alarm bells and it was subsequently discovered that instead of jewellery, they were in possession of one kilogram of heroin.
Returning to the analysis, the Jewellery Industry Fair at the Carriageworks venue - part of the 1850s Railway Workshops - announced more than 800 ‘guests’.
This terminology is interesting because it does not differentiate between retail buyers specifically and anyone else at the event.
For example, the 800 ‘guests’ could include exhibitor staff, other non-exhibiting suppliers, guest speakers, and anyone not at the event to specifically trade with paid exhibitors.
For that reason, the term ‘guest’ can be misleading because suppliers (sellers) are only interested in meeting with retail visitors (buyers).
To ensure that this was a like-for-like comparison, Jeweller contacted event organiser Laura Moore to confirm her definition of ‘guest’; however, she did not respond to this request for more information.
It should be noted that the information for ‘visitors’ and ‘guests’ is supplied by both event organisers and cannot be independently verified by Jeweller.
When all is said and done
In a nutshell, the International Jewellery Fair closed with 151 exhibitors and, for a like-for-like comparison, the Jewellery Industry Fair featured 37 industry suppliers - not including industry associations.
To further cut through the spin and puffery, last year’s Jewellery Industry Fair managed 53 industry suppliers; however, as previously reported, 37 exhibitors (70 per cent) did not rebook for the 2024 event. The three-day show in 2023 was reduced to two days this year.
The International Jewellery Fair reported 3,996 visitors (retail buyers) and the Jewellery Industry Fair reported 800 ‘guests’ - the number of retail buyers is unknown.
Expertise Events has confirmed that the International Jewellery Fair will return to Darling Harbour on 23-25 August next year. As an aside, exhibitors are advised of the next year’s dates on the final day of the show.
Conversely, the Jewellery Industry Fair has not yet announced its dates for 2025.
Intriguingly, Jeweller received unconfirmed reports that before the first day of the fair, Jewellery Industry Network staff were canvassing suppliers about a potentially significant change of dates.
Jeweller contacted Moore for clarity on this matter; however, the request for confirmation was ignored.
If the organisers of the Jewellery Industry Fair are considering a change of dates, this creates an interesting scenario.
Having declared that the 2024 Jewellery Industry Fair was a “resounding success”, logically, this would suggest that the two shows will once again clash in 2025, forcing suppliers to make a choice for, seemingly, no good reason.
Alternatively, the suggestion that Jewellery Industry Network staff were canvassing suppliers about a potential change of date undermines their interpretation - and reporting - of the event.
Said another way, if the Jewellery Industry Fair was a "resounding success", why now move the show to avoid a future clash of dates?
It should be said that the deliberate clash of dates in August caused a great deal of confusion and industry division, leading to public attacks on various parties – some of which were entirely uninvolved in any perceived ‘dispute’ between events.
Another point of consideration is that a potential change of dates would likely relegate the Jewelley Industry Fair to a ‘Sydney-specific’ event.
That is to say, traditionally the International Jewellery Fair attracts visitors from across Australia, as well as retail buyers and exhibitors from New Zealand.
The great majority of interstate retailers travel to Sydney in August to attend the Darling Harbour show and/or attend events hosted by Australia’s three leading buying groups, such as conferences, all of which have thrown their support behind the International Jewellery Fair.
These Nationwide Jewellers, Showcase Jewellers, and Independent Jewellers Collective events are organised around the centrally located Darling Harbour event.
For that reason, it remains to be seen how a significant change of dates would impact the Jewellery Industry Fair’s ability to attract retailers outside of Sydney.
Editor’s Note: This report addresses the ‘facts and figures’ surrounding the two rival jewellery fairs in Sydney in August. A subsequent report will detail the ‘political fallout’ from the event, which while important to document, is worthy of separating from the data. Furthermore, when the Jewellery Industry Fair announces its dates for the Sydney trade show in 2025, this article will be updated to include this information as a matter of transparency. |
More reading
Jewellery Trade Shows IV: Sydney’s confused jewellery commuters
Jewellery Trade Shows III: More facts and figures without ‘spin’
Jewellery Trade Shows II: Is all ‘fair’ in love and war?
Jewellery Trade Shows I: The facts and figures without puffery