The first India Australia Jewellery Buyer Seller Meet was inaugurated this morning in Mumbai by GJEPC Vice Chairman Colin Shah. Ten Indian jewellery exporters will interact with a delegation from Australia, as well as a smaller delegation from Ireland over the next few days.

The format of the show includes pre-scheduled appointments of fixed duration between the 14 buyer companies and the ten exhibitors on the first two days and a tour of the SEEPZ jewellery factories on the third day. The delegations will also visit the IIJS on August 10, in addition to interacting with exhibitors at various other evening events held alongside over the next few days.

Welcoming all the participants, GJEPC ED Sabyasachi Ray drew attention to the mutually beneficial ties between India and Australia due to the development of the Argyle mine. “Prior to Indian entrepreneurs developing the necessary skills, 75% of the Argyle mine production was classified as industrial goods. But with Indian expertise in smalls, the picture changed and over the last couple of decades, 75% of production from the mine could be transformed into gem quality stones that were used in jewellery worldwide.”

Speaking on the occasion, Colin Shah briefly introduced the Indian jewellery industry to the visitors, saying that it was about 30 years since the country took its first steps into the export markets. In these few decades, Shah pointed out, India has become a significant force in the global arena and today is a bigger jewellery exporter than China and Thailand. He attributed India’s success to its ability to “produce a world class product, offer competitive prices and ensure on schedule deliveries”. The growth of the industry had been facilitated by different initiatives taken up by GJEPC, which ensured an enabling policy framework, international networking opportunities, global promotions as well as development of a skilled workforce.

The Vice Chairman emphasised that building ties with manufacturers in Mumbai would provide a boost to any jeweller across the world as the city was the hub for the diamond trade and had a large number of jewellery manufacturers with experience in creating jewellery in sync with global tastes.

Coordinator of the BSM, Jeremy Weight introduced all the buyers from the delegations and thanked the GJEPC for providing them this opportunity. He said that the delegation comprised a mix of retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and importers from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide as well as those from different parts of South Ireland, and expressed the hope that this platform would help ties between the industries of these countries to blossom.

In an exclusive interaction with gjepc.org, Weight said that Australia was a market with large potential across both the wedding and fashion / daily wear segments. “Till now distance has been a barrier in growing the trade, especially for smaller companies, who source from closer home or depend on what they can get through wholesalers,” he said. “But, there is demand for good jewellery, and once the relationships are established there is a lot of scope to grow.”

Weight also added that Ireland, like Australia had similar design preferences to European and American consumers and so the products that are manufactured for these latter markets can also do well in both countries.

Dilipbhai Shah, Convener-International Exhibitions GJEPC said that he believed events like these would help Indian exporters to explore new markets and increase business. “It is not so easy for every individual company to undertake special marketing trips and meet multiple vendors / buyers often scattered across different locations, while at trade shows, the sheer size does not suit in-depth interaction. This format is perfect – at a go there are 10 sellers and about 20 buyers, and each will be able to interact directly and one-on-one.”

Sohail Kothari, member of the GJEPC Exhibitions Sub-Committee concurred that the BSM format had proved to be extremely useful for growing the business. “India has already developed direct relations with many of the large jewellery chains from across the world. BSMs have helped Indian companies reach out to new segments. They are an ideal way to connect with the independents – single store or those with a small number of outlets,” he said. “Moreover, for a country which has such a diverse range of offerings across so many different product categories and manufacturing centres, the BSM format provides many benefits. It facilitates product centric events and facilitates ensuring that the right profile of buyers and sellers come face-to-face with each other.”

Kothari added, “Also at larger shows exhibitors usually develop contacts that have to be rigorously followed up before they translate into business, but at BSM shows, often orders are placed and deals are confirmed during the event itself.”

Exhibitors at the India Australia Jewellery BSM:

Asian Jewels Pvt Ltd

Fine Jewellery Manufacturing Ltd

Goldstar Jewellery Pvt Ltd

Intergold (India) Pvt Ltd

Kama- Schachter Jewelry Pvt Ltd

KBS Creations

KP Sanghvi International

Tache Jewellery Pvt Ltd

Uni Design Jewellery Pvt Ltd

VM Jewellery

Pic caption: Lighting the lamp to inaugurate the first India Australia Jewellery BSM. Seen (from l) Jeremy Weight, Colin Shah, Sabyasachi Ray, Dilipbhai Shah and Sohail Kothari