JCK Experiments With A Multi-venue Strategy
In anticipation of larger Sands Expo, jewelry show expands to LVCC
By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 6/11/2007
Las Vegas—The Jewelers' Circular Keystone Show, Las Vegas isn't bearing the symptoms of an industry facing challenging conditions.
On the contrary. Bursting at the seams in the Sands Expo & Convention Center/Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, the Reed Exhibitions show expanded this year to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The JCK Show, Las Vegas — which, including its separately branded divisions Luxury by JCK and Swiss Watch by JCK, took place May 29 to June 5 — encompassed approximately 3,500 exhibitors spanning 640,000 net square feet of space. Of that, 400 exhibitors used about 64,000 net sq. ft. at the LVCC.
Dave Bonaparte, vice president of Reed Exhibitions' JCK Group, said the move to the convention center was done in anticipation of the expansion of the Sands.
"We have tremendous demand," he said, noting that the show is sold out at the Sands, and many exhibitors have been requesting extra space.
"We jump-started a plan for expansion two years early," he added. "The space at the convention center gave these exhibitors the chance to secure more space now and keep it when the Sands grows."
By that, he was referring to a planned expansion that is expected to add several hundred thousand square feet of exhibit space to the Sands. When originally announced, the project included 800,000 sq. ft. to open by next year. Recently, however, Sands executives have said they aren't booking anything into the new space until late 2009 and hinted that the space itself will be different than originally envisioned.
Sands corporate officials haven't released details on revised plans.
In the meantime, JCK will continue to straddle the Sands and LVCC, according to Bonaparte. He's holding space at the convention center for both 2008 and 2009.
The additional space allowed Bonaparte and his team to experiment with some new elements for the show, such as a high-end gift section called Cadeaux, an Artisans section for original designs, and international pavilions for Argentina, Singapore, Malaysia and Lebanon.
At the same time, they integrated extensions of established show segments (for diamonds and time pieces, for instance) into the LVCC exhibits to give attendees familiar with the show a reason to make the trip to the LVCC.
Bonaparte estimated that 250 of the 400 exhibitors at the convention center were long-time supporters of the show, while 150 were new.
For their upscale clientele, managers also tried to make sure there were plenty of options — limos and vans in addition to shuttle buses — for traveling between the two venues.
Not surprisingly, some attendees still complained about the trek, and some exhibitors worried the two-venue layout thinned showfloor traffic.
"Traffic is light," said Linda Robbins, CEO of exhibitor Bellagio bel tempo, adding that she wouldn't want to be at the LVCC.
But overall, spirits were high. Andrew Richter of Lazare Kaplan Intl. estimated that the company doubled the amount of business it did the first day of the show compared with last year. Most other exhibitors also reported strong sales and lead-gathering early in the long show.
Positive results were a welcome relief for Bonaparte, who said the jewelry business had been challenged recently by low consumer confidence, high gas prices, bad dollar-euro exchange rates and global political instability.
The JCK Show — Las Vegas 2006 spanned 584,049 net sq. ft. and attracted 3,009 exhibitors and an estimated 21,000 professional attendees, according to the 2007 TSW 200, where it ranked No. 32. At press time, Reed Exhibitions was once again projecting 21,000 estimated attendees.
