BASELWORLD 2009

BASELWORLD Press release, April 2, 2009 – After eight successful days, BASELWORLD 2009 closed its doors today, once again reaffirming its position as the leading international watch and jewellery trade show. On a site covering approximately 160,000 m2, 1,952 exhibitors from 45 countries showcased their latest products and innovations. Exhibitors and visitors alike spoke enthusiastically about their experience at the show and the business they did. Thanks to this sense of positi­vity, both exhibitors and visitors forecast new prospects for the industry as a whole.

Watch and jewellery manufacturers and representatives from related industries have been showcasing their exclusive new products and premium collections at BASELWORLD over the past eight days. With its unrivalled vibrancy, BASELWORLD proved once more its immense importance to all exhibitors as the absolute highlight of the watch and jewellery industry’s calendar.

Satisfied exhibitors

This year, BASELWORLD once again reaffirmed itself as the leading global business platform for the watch and jewellery industry. And with results to match. For François Thiébaud, President of the Swiss Exhibitors’ Comittee, BASELWORLD 2009 was a great success. In his own words: “We were able to showcase our new products to buyers from all over the world and we’re extremely satisfied with how the show went. It was extremely well organised and it worked its magic for us once again”. Rolf Schnyder, President of Ulysse Nardin, was also very pleased: “The results for 2009 have been far better than we had expected. Once again, BASELWORLD has been the best place for us to meet specialist dealers and showcase our latest collections.”

BASELWORLD 2009

A strong media and trade presence

For Luc Perramond, CEO of Hermès, BASELWORLD was without a doubt much more successful than many had been anticipating in the run-up to the show: “The mood was fantastic. There was a strong media and trade presence which has given our new range excellent coverage.” Jean-Christophe Babin, President of TAG Heuer, stresses this point as follows: “Over the course of one week, we have the attention of the world’s press in Basel – and these media representa­tives were there yet again in 2009. Therefore, BASELWORLD has once again offered us a fantastic platform where the entire watch industry can get together.”

BASELWORLD as a barometer for the rest of the year

For Rodolphe Schulthess, Sales Manager of Breguet, being able to stage a successful trade show is also very gratifying: “BASELWORLD is immensely important to Breguet.” Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Vice President of Chopard confirms this: “BASELWORLD is the highlight of the year and it’s also the barometer for the rest of the year. We do a large proportion of our business in Basel and get together with our clients and the press from all over the world.” This was once again the case for Chopard: “Even if there was a noticeable air of caution amongst a few of our clients.”

Expectations clearly surpassed

The jewellery sector was also very satisfied as the show drew to a close. “BASELWORLD has been a success. All major jewellers came to our stand, almost without exception”, says Christoph Wellendorff, Managing Director of Wellendorff. Lisa Foo, Marketing Manager of Pasquale Bruni, backs this up: “BASELWORLD is extremely impor­tant to us because it’s the one and only trade show we go to. Our expectations, which were initially a little conservative, were clearly surpassed.” Expectations were also exceeded in the gemstone and diamond sector. Markus P. Wild, Managing Director of Paul Wild, said that there was a large amount of visitor interest. According to Chaim Pluczenik, CEO of The Pluczenik Diamond Company: “It just illustra­tes that even in these difficult times, BASELWORLD attracts all of the decision-makers for the entire industry.”

BASELWORLD 2009

Stengthening its position as a global leader

BASELWORLD strengthened its position as a global leader with a total of 93,900 visitors coming to the show from around the world. Buyers also drew an equally positive conclusion from BASELWORLD 2009: “There is no other comparable event in the jewellery industry’s calendar which has the potential and scope of BASELWORLD”, according to Scott Martin, buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. “For all of us, BASELWORLD is the launch pad for the rest of the year.” For Michael Tay, Executive Director of The Hour Glass in Singapore, one thing is certain: “This year, BASELWORLD was once again the epicenter of the watch industry. As usual, I was able to gain a fantastic overview of current issues and trends in the industry.”

Buyers focus on BASELWORLD

Arif Ben Khadra, owner of Levant in Dubai, simply describes BASEL­WORLD as the most important watch and jewellery show there is: “Its importance has been borne out by the sheer number of exhibitors, purchasers and media representatives who once again have come to Basel this year. Anyone who is anyone in the industry has a stand in Basel.” Rajesh Gandhi, owner of Choron Diamond in Russia, espe­cially appreciates the “unique and pleasant atmosphere which the organisers have managed to bring to the show once again this year. With its huge number of exhibitors from 45 countries, this watch and jewellery show exceeded my highest expectations.” For Mehud Choksi, Managing Director of the Gitanjali Group in India: “BASEL­WORLD is the world’s biggest and most important trade show. In good times as in bad, my colleagues and I can take or leave other trade shows, but that’s not the case with BASELWORLD.”

BASELWORLD is a must

The show’s good atmosphere and the satisfaction of the buyers also comes across in the survey conducted on behalf of BASELWORLD. Like last year, of those questioned, three quarters rated BASEL­WORLD 2009 as either good or excellent. As many as 78% of visitors in 2009 stated: “BASELWORLD is a must”. What has been on offer at the show, in all of the exhibition halls, has been judged to be of an extremely positive quality.

BASELWORLD 2009

Increased internationality and strong customer loyalty

68.1% of those who visited BASELWORLD were from overseas (compared with 63.6% in 2008). 71% of those visitors questioned confirmed that they also intend to visit BASELWORLD next year; thus emphasising the strong ties the show has. When asked, those questioned said that the main goal of their visit to the watch and jewellery show was to gain an overview of the market. This was followed by networking, customer care, meeting new clients and information gathering about market innovations. Orders were slightly down on the previous year due to the global economic crisis.

The large number of media representatives underscores the importance of the world show

With 2,973 accredited journalists covering the trade show, the impor­tance of BASELWORLD to the entire luxury goods industry has also been underlined. All major trade publications, hundreds of lifestyle magazines, daily newspapers, the online media and numerous TV stations from all over the world, have given coverage to BASEL­WORLD and to the collections and innovations which have been on display over the course of the last eight days.

New momentum boosts business

Sylvie Ritter, Show Director of BASELWORLD, draws an extremely positive conclusion: “BASELWORLD 2009 has shown that the watch and jewellery industry is facing up to this difficult economic situation in an extremely constructive way. BASELWORLD 2009 has successfully given the watch and jewellery industry new momentum and as a result business has been boosted.”

BASELWORLD 2010: March 18 – 25, 2010

BASELWORLD 2010 – the World Watch and Jewellery Show – will be held in Basel, Switzerland, from March 18 – 25, 2010.