While the height of the holiday trading period remains ahead of Australia’s retailers, planning is well and truly underway for next year’s major jewellery fairs.
The Melbourne Jewellery Expo will take place on 3-5 February, hosted alongside the Gift & Lifestyle Fair at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Expertise Events managing director Gary Fitz-Roy said that a presentation from Australian television and radio presenter Jo Stanley on the importance of work-life balance was sure to be a highlight.
“We’re nearly sold out for Melbourne; it’s in really good shape and offers a great chance for retailers to top up,” he said.
“Timing-wise, it’s the week before Valentine’s Day, which is a great opportunity for retailers to organise new orders. For country jewellers, in particular, it’s a quality time-efficient event. It’s a great chance for the industry to reconnect after Christmas and to measure the environment heading into a busy year.”
He added: “Jo [Stanley] will give a presentation on the importance of work-life balance, which will be very interesting – it’s an important and often overlooked topic.”
The Australian Jewellery Fair was launched in 2022 to ‘kickstart’ the industry after the COVID pandemic, offering retailers a chance to explore new products ahead of Mother’s Day.
Next year, visitors will head to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre for a change of scenery, with the event previously held in Sydney.
The fair is scheduled for 24-25 March, and Fitz-Roy said the event’s popularity had caught him by surprise.
“Gold Coast is looking unreal; it’s double the size of where we were in Sydney, and it’s going to be a really strong event. There’s a very good cross-section of products in particular,” he said.
“The support has been fantastic, and with Nationwide Jewellers and the Independent Jewellers Collective scheduled to host their annual general members conferences in the days before the fair, there should be a great turnout from members, too.”
Australia’s largest annual industry gathering – the International Jewellery Fair in Sydney – is scheduled for 17-19 August.
For further details and registration information, visit jewelleryfair.com.au.
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