JCK Las Vegas Leaves Sands for Mandalay Bay in 2011
Stephanie Corbin -- Tradeshow Week, 9/30/2009 1:29:00 PM
JCK Las Vegas will have a new home in 2011.
The show will move from the Sands Expo & Convention Center, where it has been held the last several years, to Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, farther south on the Strip.
“This has been a pure example of customer-focused decision-making,” said Dave Bonaparte, group vice president for JCK Events. “We will deliver dynamic change to meet the needs of our customers and create fresh, new value, without sacrificing any fundamental element that has made JCK Las Vegas so special for 18 years.”
Show officials said the relocation of the show is part of an overarching reinvention that major players in the jewelry industry have endorsed.
Exhibitors such as the American Gem Trade Assn., Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers Assn., LUXURY, Plumb Club, Prestige Promenade, Swiss Watch and Vicenza Oro Italian Pavilion already have signed up for space in 2011, according to show officials.
Bonaparte said the show consulted individual companies and larger groups before making a final decision.
“More than 90 percent expressed support for the move,” he added. “After that, it was a matter of determining if we could meet retailer needs with the right date pattern. The existing date pattern is the one that works best for our customers, and Mandalay Bay was able to accommodate our timing. We have thoroughly enjoyed our tenure at the Sands Convention Center. Indeed, our company will continue to hold three major events at the Sands in 2011 and beyond. But for JCK’s customers, this was the right decision at the right time.”
Starting with next year’s show, JCK Las Vegas will begin its reinvention as a retailer-focused event, Bonaparte said.
“We will continue to seek ways to reduce cost, organize the floorplan better for ease of navigation and efficient buying,” he added. “And, we will continue to invest in more programming, education and opportunities for networking and socializing – all important to the retail customers, based on our research.”
