Buying Group news for 2018 International Jewellery Fair

Showcase Jewellers

Kassandra Lewis

Members of Showcase Jewellers are in for a week packed with exclusive guest speakers, networking opportunities and vineyard tours at its buying group conference, managing director Carson Webb said.

“We have a conference this time every year to bring together our members to do business, train and network before the Fair,” he said.

“This year we are going to the Hunter Valley. We are different to other buying groups in that we are a member-owned group. Our members voted to go out of the CBD this year, so we are heading out to the Hunter Valley to trial the getaway.”

David Brown

The conference will host keynote speakers David Brown and Friedman Group’s Kassandra Lewis. Podium USA, ALTR Created Diamonds and Effy New York are flying across exclusively for the conference ahead of IJF.

“It has been a pretty tough few years for the industry, but we are feeling incredibly positive about the year ahead,” Webb said.

“We are keen to get our share of the market back and are keen to accept this challenge.”

The five-day conference kicks off Sunday 19 August and runs through until Thursday 23, and will include the group’s annual general meeting.

Leading Edge Group Jewellers

Craig James

Aside from its annual Christmas buying event, running Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 August, Leading Edge Group Jewellers (LEGJ) has an enormous schedule in the days leading up to the IJF.

General manager Joshua Zarb said members would meet in Sydney ahead of IJF to partake in a number of activities and seminars aimed to maximise productivity during its conference.

“We are offering various sponsorship packages to assist suppliers in promoting their businesses to the membership throughout the entire three-day conference period,” Zarb said.

“We will be offering suppliers the opportunity to book educational time-slots and we will be setting up our own education area where suppliers can stop by for a demonstration of our new custom catalogue program, ecommerce platforms and communication tools.”

LEGJ members will be treated to a keynote presentation from Google strategic partners manager, Jamie Dagostino.

Dubbed “Breakfast with Google”, Dagostino will share his tips on how to use Google Search, Shopping, YouTube and remarketing online while providing insights into the behaviours of jewellery buyers on Google, which channels they are using and what they are searching for.

Commsec’s Craig James will host another feature keynote on the state of the nation and future of small business in Australia.

Other sessions include building brand strategies, supporting strategies through product selection, seminars with LEGJ digital advertising professionals and selling on social media.

The company is also hosting its annual awards night on Thursday 23 August following its trade day. The event will take place atop Centrepoint Tower and will celebrate top achieving members.

Nationwide Jewellers

Bill Sechos

This year’s IJF is one of celebration for Nationwide Jewellers as the company celebrates silver anniversary of business in New Zealand.

The company is hosting a cocktail function to celebrate 20 years of taking members to Antwerp to buy diamonds on Saturday 25 August. The next evening will be its annual awards presentation dinner, at which members will celebrate 25 years of trading in New Zealand, managing director Colin Pocklington said.

“In our VIP lounge at the fair, we have exclusive suppliers, a wide range of diamond workshops, seminars, and experts providing one-on-one free consultancy sessions.”

Some of Nationwide’s vast presentation at the Fair includes demonstrations from Jewelsure and JewelScan, Counter Sketch and SmartPro. Industry experts will also be on hand to provide information on consumer financing, selling coloured gemstones, human resources and public relations seminars, branded jewellery workshops and discussions on synthetic diamonds.

Nationwide diamond workshops will also take place, with Bill Sechos running hands-on grading classes and seminars across Saturday and Sunday. The events have proven to be a great success since their establishment in 2001.

“Attending the Fair allows us to communicate new initiatives with a large number of members. We usually register over 300 people for the weekend,” Pocklington said.