UK watch industry publication WatchPro reports that MCH Group is “in consultation with potential exhibitors to launch a completely new concept next year”.
The report quotes an MCH Group spokesperson as saying, “A new format can be reborn. The destination can be chosen once the new format is chosen.”
The change in the event’s location will likely be welcomed by exhibitors, as many had voiced dissatisfaction with the costs of accommodation, food, and transport in Basel.
Indeed, the decision to break away from the Swiss city represents a decisive change, as MCH Group’s largest shareholder is Canton Basel-Stadt (the city of Basel), which owns 33.5 per cent.
Speaking exclusively to Jeweller recently, Michel Loris-Melikoff, managing director Baselworld, confirmed that “expert interviews, followed by a survey” were being conducted in order to “design a new product that responds to the needs of our exhibitors, visitors, buyers and journalists”.
“Baselworld has to organise itself with the interests of the industries, with the different players and the buyers in mind,” he added. “An independent watch brand of the Swiss Jura does not have the same needs as a diamond dealer in New York. It’s up to us, Baselworld, as a trade show organiser, to hear these needs – taking into account the new coronavirus travel and security aspects – and to meet them.”
Some industry sources have speculated that a new MCH Group show could be held at Geneva's Palexpo exhibition centre next April, alongside Watches & Wonders and the unnamed Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe, Chanel and Chopard event.
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