We expect to give the biggest business to the industry through IIJS Tritiya: Nirav Bhansali

Nirav Bhansali, Convener, National Exhibitions Sub-committee, GJEPC, says the Indian gold demand is so robust that the current price fluctuations will not affect IIJS Tritiya

Nirav Bhansali, Convener, National Exhibitions Sub-committee, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), has set the benchmark high for the first-ever edition of IIJS Tritiya, to be held at the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) from March 17 to 20. With robust planning to makethe show a great experience for exhibitors and visitors, and expectations of a great show in terms of business, Bhansali is very positive about the outcome of the show. Also on his agenda is the launch of a dedicated IIJS app, and moving towards his goal of making all GJEPC events carbon-neutral.

Here are excerpts from a conversation with Samit Bhatta, Co-Founder and Publisher, The Retail Jeweller, India:

You are taking the IIJS show to the South of India, which is the largest jewellery market. So, what are your expectations from IIJS Tritiya?

Like you said, the South is the largest market within India for jewellery. The timing of the show was deliberately kept around the Akshay Tritiya festival, because for the southern region, it is even bigger than Diwali sales for many retailers. So, at GJEPC, we are very positive about the show, and our point is validated with the exhibitor and visitor response. We are going ahead with the first edition of IIJS Tritiya at Bangalore with 1,500 booths – this is as big as IIJS Signature used to be earlier. We have got booths from various parts of India; so all the segments in jewellery are covered. As for visitors, we are expecting at least 15,000. About 13,500 have already registered. At first, we thought IIJS Tritiya might only be related to Southern India, but visitor registrations have been from pan-India. We have an elite visitors’ list of 600 companies that we are tracking. Most of them have registered and most of them are coming. Through this first edition of IIJS Tritiya, we expect to give the biggest business to the industry. Going forward, it is going to be an annual event in the calendar of the Indian gems and jewellery industry.

What are the trends you see with respect to products? Are there any post-COVID changes in jewellery purchase behavior of the consumer, due to which a certain kind of stocks will be seen at IIJS Tritiya?

Since the last year-and-a-half, post COVID, the jewellery trend is moving towards lighter, made in a finer finish, very design-oriented but lower price point products. That trend will continue atleast for the next1-2 years. Another trend that is strongly emerging in the Indian market, which was not visible until now, is the acceptance of lab-grown diamonds. We did a separate section for the first time for this category at IIJS Signature, and the response was phenomenal. So, we are going ahead with the same concept and here also, we will have a separate section for lab-grown diamonds. Already, that is driving a lot of interest among our visitors. They are all interested in exploring another vertical within jewellery that may become as big as our main vertical. As Indian consumers love jewellery, going forward, it is a win-win for everyone – be it retailers or manufacturers, it is going to be a great year for all.

The timing of the show is such that it is very near to the financial year-ending in India, when people are really working on their tax liabilities, etc. But there’s a twist to it -in the last 15-20 days, gold prices have been fluctuating. What is your take on this – do you think this will impact IIJS Tritiya?

Internationally, gold price movements have taken place following actions in the US market, that are responsible for the rate hikes. But leave aside the price of gold; it always goes up and down. The Indian gold demand is so robust, that even if price reaches Rs 1 lakh per 10 gm, consumers are going to lap up gold. So, I don’t think it is going to affect the IIJS Tritiya festival. It is solid. The Indian economy has held on well. The markets are up by a few percentage points. Let’s not get all the negativity into our heads and look forward to the show. We are blessed to be born in India and be a part of the Indian economy, which is going to grow at such speed that nothing can stop it. There are going to be ups and downs, but overall, the graph is very robust and is pointing upwards – so we are very positive.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News