Hong Kong Exhibitors Angry

Nearly 100 Hong Kong Jewellery and Watch Fair exhibitors from five local jewelry associations demonstrated Aug. 26 outside CMP Asia's Hong Kong offices, threatening to boycott the show next year if the organizer didn't abandon its plans to divide it along strict product classifications.

The show, one of the largest held in the city, and the second-largest jewelry show in the world, has taken place each June and September at both the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo since the latter opened in 2006, with exhibitors reserving space on a first-come, first-served basis. Now, CMP Asia plans to restrict finished jewelry exhibits to the HKCEC and unfinished jewelry products, such as raw stones, to the AWE, starting with the June 2009 show.

Companies with products that fall into both classifications would have to exhibit at both venues, something the protestors, mostly small- to medium-sized exhibitors, said they can't afford.

Protestors said international attendees would not have time to visit both venues. They also said this is a veiled attempt to drive them from the HKCEC so CMP Asia can make room for more finished jewelry exhibitors, which they believe can afford to pay higher space rates.

The HKCEC is in the downtown Wanchai district, while AWE is about an hour's drive or half-hour train ride away, near the Hong Kong Intl. Airport.

Besides the Aug. 26 demonstrations, the associations, which primarily represent the gemstone and pearl industries, also placed ads in Hong Kong newspapers, including the South China Morning Post, the city's highest-profile English-language publication.

CMP Asia CEO Jime Essink said the associations oppose the plan because they want to limit the participation of international exhibitors.

“They perceive AWE as less successful and want to limit the fair to one exhibition center only, securing their own position at the show and not giving space to new (international) competitors,” Essink said. “In this way, they're trying to block major development of the fair.”

AWE Corporate Development Director Trevor Lui said AWE has hosted a vast array of international exhibitions and visitors who appreciate its strategic location at the airport, the hub of an extensive transit network.

“As far as we are concerned, AWE is a venue of choice and a desirable venue for thousands of exhibitors,” Lui said.

He also noted that CMP Asia's jewelry show is not the first to take advantage of both venues. He said ITU Telecom World 2006, the first major exhibition to be held at the two-year-old AWE, also had a number of activities at the HKCEC.

“As a result of this new setup, both venues will be equally successful for both exhibitors and visitors,” Essink said. “And the fair is set for further growth to become the leading and biggest jewelry fair in the world, mainly driven by the fact that Asia will be the future largest jewelry market in the world.”

Richard Szeto, general manager of the Hong Kong Gemstone Manufacturers Assn., said, “After all these actions, if CMP does not consider our request, the associations will hold a larger demonstration during the next jewelry fair,” scheduled Sept. 17-21.

The associations have created a coalition called the Alliance of Concerned Hong Kong Jewellery Exhibition Prospects.

Szeto said because exports to Europe and the United States have dropped significantly, and the cost of operating factories in mainland China has increased rapidly, the associations' members are struggling for survival.

In a statement released by the coalition, CMP Asia was accused of putting additional burdens on association members by raising fees and installing the product categorization to drive them from HKCEC and sell space there to exhibitors who can afford higher space rents.

HKCEC Managing Director Cliff Wallace said there was little choice but to use both venues for such a highly successful show that is certain to continue to grow.

“Those few opposing would prefer the fair remaining of a size that permits the entire fair to be in the HKCEC,” Wallace said.

The jewelry associations are being short-sighted, he added, because Hong Kong suppliers ultimately benefit from the prestige of the show and its international influence.

“Though it is never ideal to split a show between two venues some distance away from one another, the train, or even road, connections are most efficient,” Wallace said.

Celine Lau, director of jewelry fairs for CMP Asia, explained that the new arrangements for sectorization were made necessary because of the show's expansion beyond the capacity of a single venue. In 2009, the total gross exhibition space in both venues will expand by 30 percent, compared with 2008, creating a combined showfloor of more than 100,000 square meters (1 million square feet).

Meanwhile, Lau said, CMP Asia will spend 50 percent more on its worldwide visitor marketing campaign for the September 2009 show and implement initiatives to assist exhibitors in adjusting to the new arrangements. For instance, a shuttle bus service introduced this year for visitors between the HKCEC and AWE and between Kowloon (across the harbor from the HKCEC) and AWE will be doubled next year.

Other initiatives are planned as well:

• a round-trip Airport Express Line train ticket between Hong Kong and AWE that will have a reduced fare of HK $48 (U.S. $6.14), compared with the regular price of HK $180 (U.S. $23.05)
• free networking luncheon coupons to be distributed at HKCEC, but used at AWE
• an increased number of trade-related seminars at AWE.