China Emerging As Important Jewelery Consumer Country in the World

China has emerged as one of the most important jewelry 1 sales markets in the world for both domestic and international jewelers. At the just concluded Hong Kong Jewelry and Gem 2 Fair, China's consumer demand for jewelry impressed many sellers from around the world.

Let's take a closer look with our reporter Liu Min.

 

Chinese domestic jewelry buyers have exclusive VIP rooms in which they seal deals with jewelers from all over the world. This is something that is quite unique at the Hong Kong Jewelry and Gem Fair.

According to the fair organizer, Chinese jewelers accounted for one-third of the overall participants at this year's exhibition. More than half the buyers were from the mainland.

Here are some sales managers from several international jewelry brands at the event.

"We've seen a great number of clients from the Chinese mainland this time."

"My company's records show that the Chinese market now accounts for half of the entire global demand."

The Hong Kong Jewelry and Gem Fair was spread over two venues 3 and covered a record 130,000 square meters of exhibition space. With 3,400 exhibitors from 46 countries, this year's show, the 29th annual event, was 8 percent larger in than last year.

The fair presented a much-needed opportunity for jewelers from around the world to show and sell their products, considering that past three years have been a difficult time for them.

Jime Essink, CEO of the fair says the industry hasn't been immune to global economic uncertainties 4.

"The positive thing is for the Asian manufacturers, for the Asian companies involved in jewelry, they have been compensated 5 by the growth—most of them—by the growth in China and India."

As in other industries, it has been the strength of the Asian economies that has come to the rescue. Dealers 6 have had to adapt to the new economic realities of global trade.

Enzo, a brand of the NAZDAQ-listed parent company Lorenzo Jewelry, specializes in colored gemstones such as tourmaline. Enzo has around 170 shops in mainland China. It started operating in China in 2004 and has its own in-house jewelry designers. The company now is investing more on the Chinese mainland.

Manager Vicky Chan from Enzo says the company has come up with special designs to appeal to consumers in growing markets like China.

"For certain, we are quite worried about the future situation, especially the economic crisis. However, for doing business, we are going to expand our markets not only for new customers, we are also expanding our product collection so that (we can) cope with the coming situation."

Tailoring products to suit clients' pocketbooks and wallets is now a strategy that many jewelers worldwide have adopted because of the unstable 7 global economic situation.

House of Baguettes is an American brand that mainly targets markets in North America and Middle East. Its CEO, Joseph Sengul, says getting the price right while maintaining quality is now the name of the game.

"Price points have shrunk, and yes, because of the economy people are spending—they have less spending power. But we've shrunk down the goods, and we've still kept our craftsmanship 8 way above standard. I think that's the key in jewelry, you know. You have to still keep it as something that is very precious, and it is. It's timeless. It's something that's forever."

Despite the price sensitivity of some consumer groups, buyers from the Chinese mainland, where personal wealth and disposable incomes have increased considerably 9 in recent years, are less concerned about lower priced goods. They tend to care more about the products' potential growth in value in the future.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.