VicenzaOro Janaury 2019 opens its doors, the Vicenza fair dedicated to the gold and jewelery sector. The debut is scheduled for Friday 18 January. The event, organized by IEG – Italian Exhibition Group, will see the participation of major Observatories who will take stock of the state of the sector in Italy and around the world.
Speaking of Italy, gold and jewelery consumption remains stable. At Christmas, according to estimates, 12,7% of Italians bought jewels, bijoux or watches: a percentage in line with that of 2017 (12,3%).
The composition of the distribution on the purchasing channels also remains stable, with a slight growth of traditional jewelers compared to shopping centres. Online purchases are constantly on the rise – both on sites like Amazon and on brand e-boutiques.
Speaking of exports, the gold and jewelery sector is confirmed as a strategic sector for the Made in Italy manufacturing industry with a trade surplus of 3,17 billion euros in the first 3 quarters of 2018.
The data processed by Confindustria Moda – Federorafi, in fact, attest that in the first three quarters of the year which has just ended the total value of exports exceeds 4,7 billion euros while that of imports exceeds one and a half billion (precious metals and gems excluded).
After a double-digit growth in 2017 and a very positive start to 2018, and despite the slight slowdown in our exports last autumn, among the exhibitors at Vicenzaoro, focused on the gold and jewelery quality segments, there is an air of optimism on the closure of 2018.
In particular, the sign is positive in some markets such as the UK, South Africa, Canada, Japan and Russia, also opening up opportunities for further growth. Switzerland (re-export hub) remains the leading importer of Made in Italy albeit with a slight decrease (-1,4%) while, due to the slow "absorption" of the introduction of VAT and customs duties which created a temporary slowdown of imports, the United Arab Emirates are still decreasing. The geo-political dynamics that have a direct impact – both positively and negatively – on trade flows also weigh on the area.
On the other hand, Great Britain has a positive sign, where the purchase of Italian products rises by 18,2%. The growth of Made in Italy product orders in the USA resumed in the third quarter with an increase of +3% over the same period of the previous year.
If world jewelery consumption is considered, the first nine months of the year mark a situation of substantial stability (-1%) compared to 2017 as recorded by the Vicenzaoro Observatory of IEG, which however reports a growth of 3% in the last quarter %.
In fact, the substantial growth in Chinese consumption (+18%) weighs on this figure, where a progressive increase in sales of Made in Italy products is expected as a result of the policies of market opening towards imports with the important reduction of duties from July 2018.
And also from the Emirates comes a positive signal for consumption with a +9% on the previous year.
In the third quarter, however, India and Turkey suffered, where country dynamics impacting the spending power of consumers weighed heavily. Lastly, Russia records substantial stability and bodes particularly well for Vicenzaoro which historically welcomes many visitors from that country.
