GJEPC: Significant Business at IIJS as Visitor Numbers Reach New High

(IDEX Online) – Visitor traffic to the 35th edition of the India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) 2018 soared past the 40,000 mark for the first time in the history of the show, the GJEPC said, adding that "significant business" had been transacted.

“Exhibitors and visitors alike have greatly appreciated the changes we introduced this year, according to feedback received by committee members personally as well as information gathered by our IIJS teams,” said GJEPC Chairman Pramod Agrawal, speaking. “We not only had a new hall and about 800 new booths, but we had visitors from all over the country and many from abroad, including official delegations from 15 countries.”

Pointing to the changes in layout, with an extra hall allowing for bigger booths and extra space as some of the other reasons behind the success of the show, Agrawal said that the Council “does not try to quantify the actual turnover or numbers of deals struck, but from the inputs we have received almost everyone has done better than in earlier years”.

"Most exhibitors agreed that the business transacted was significantly higher than in the last few years, the GJEPC said, while many quantified it as a double-digit increase.

GJECPC Vice Chairman Colin Shah described the show as a reflection of “the definite vibrancy in the market at present”. He said, “The success of the India story is reflected in the energy seen at the show,” and added, “With the Indian economy performing well, there is a strong hope that the industry is entering a period of prosperity.”

Both Agrawal and Shah emphasized that there was no relaxation in norms related to visitor entry and the increased numbers were a result of the growing reputation of the show as well as the sustained efforts to market the show in all parts of the country. “We continue to screen all applications and do our utmost to ensure that these are legitimate trade visitors and genuine buyers only,” they stated.

Convener of GJEPC’s National Exhibitions Committee, which steers IIJS, Shailesh Sangani, said there will be further changes in the 36th edition.

This year we extended our international promotional program and welcomed visitors from 15 countries including China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UK, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Australia and Sri Lanka, he told the media. “We now have covered virtually all the regions in the neighborhood – be it the Middle East, South Asia and now large parts of South East Asia too,” he said, and will seek to consolidate and grow this in the coming years.”

The follow up and extension of this drive will be continued in tandem with GJEPC’s international committee, Sangani said, adding that the India Australia Jewellery Buyer Seller Meet held just before the IIJS was one such initiative and had been successful.

The show too will expand in size. “We will definitely increase the number of booths next year and accommodate more companies from the waiting list,” Sangani said. “The committee is looking at various options to achieve this. One possibility is to move some sections of the show to a new venue, like say the upcoming Reliance Convention Centre at BKC, if it is ready and deemed suitable,” he says.

“But, even if a new venue is not identified in time to do this by the 2019 show, we will implement some plans to ensure that more booths are added within the present location itself,” he said. Among the plans are a special section for silver jewelry, seamless interconnection between halls, smoother entry and exit and other features.