The VICENZAORO September show posted a 23 percent increase on the year in buyers to 14,385 from 115 countries, and an attendance of 23,176 people, a rise of 20 percent.
The five-day event is organized by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), a company formed by the integration between Rimini Fiera and Fiera di Vicenza.
"This is the best result since 2007, a sign of the winning strategy of VICENZAORO, focused on the enhancement of the quality of the brands and jewelry on display, on the creation of a platform and a business network for the development of the international goldsmith and jewelry industry, and the high added value content, including digital content, to accompany the industry through great transformations... As a result of this proposal, a scouting process was developed for the selection of the best and most qualified representatives of international buyer demand within the various distribution systems, including independent stores, retail chains, shopping malls, area distributors and specialized digital portals. Hence the success of the event, which had an extremely high attendance and confirmed the central role of VICENZAORO among the three most important global competitors."
As for the buyers’ countries of origin, there was a good increase in operators from Europe, with significant increases from Germany, the UK, France, Belgium and Spain, and from Central and Eastern Europe. There was a good growth of buying representatives from Turkey while the number of top buyers from the Middle East remained the same, with a significantly growing participation from Iran. The Americas and China confirmed the appeal of Made-in-Italy products, while Russian-speaking countries had a positive recovery.
The key topic of the September VICENZAORO show was “Green Jewellery”, social responsibility and sourcing policies of all the materials used in the global goldsmith and jewelry sector. "A topical and strategic issue for companies’ ability to compete in a scenario that has been witnessing an increased demand for transparent, certified, ethical and sustainable products and supply chains from new consumers. The highlight of the Exhibition was the opening conference held on Saturday, 23 September, which was attended by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economic Development, Ivan Scalfarotto, who stressed that CSR could represent the identifying feature of the new Made-in-Italy production."
IEG Chairman Lorenzo Cagnoni said: “The significant growth of VICENZORO, together with the positive performance of other IEG events, is the best proof of the soundness of the decision to integrate the trade fairs of Rimini and Vicenza. We believe in, and have invested with determination, in the Gold Exhibition, an event with a strong link with the local communities, a marked international vocation and the spearhead of IEG’s competitiveness in the global scenario.”
IEG's Executive Vice President, Matteo Marzotto, said: “VICENZAORO fully represents IEG’s innovative vision. It is our product with the highest rate of international participation, one that fosters a top quality supply chain and is capable of engaging with all the industry players, gathering them at the same table in a productive systemic debate.”
Other major events and projects included the conference on the impact of new EU legislation concerning conflict minerals on the jewelry industry, organized in cooperation with CIBJO (World Jewellery Confederation);
Upcoming IEG exhibitions devoted to jewelry are: Gold/Italy (Arezzo, 21-23 October), VOD Dubai International Jewellery Show (Dubai, 15-18 November) and VICENZAORO January (Vicenza, 19-24 January).