Southern Jewelry News

New Product Categories Added, LUXURY extended for 7 days

(NORWALK, Conn.) - JCK Event’s ongoing reinvention continues to take shape in the form of improving and enhancing the customer experience. JCK 2011 will be moving to the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas. The move is part of an overarching reinvention that has been embraced by a robust list of market-leading manufacturers/suppliers and buyers representing every facet of the jewelry industry.

According to ongoing customer research conducted with JCK buyers, the majority of their time at the event is spent on the show floor. The results indicated a high percentage of responses asking for better organization of the show floor by product category to make sourcing and buying more efficient.

“What impresses me most about the JCK Show team is that they never stop looking for ways to make the show more vibrant, exciting and comfortable to navigate,” said Jeff Corey, Day’s Jewelers, with locations throughout Maine and New Hampshire. “Their decision to move to Mandalay Bay in 2011 is just another demonstration of JCK’s forward thinking.”

Retailers also indicated that they want to see new and growing product segments on the show floor that enable them to concentrate on areas of consumer interest and business potential.

New for 2011, the JCK Las Vegas show floor will contain four new product destinations: Bridal, Fashion Jewelry, Pearls, and Silver, developed in response to this feedback.

According to Yancy Weinrich, Industry Vice President, with over 80 percent of the show floor occupying product location ‘destinations,’ buyers can now shop JCK more efficiently, conduct comparison shopping and move more effectively from location to location to see as much merchandise as possible in the most productive way. The remaining space will be for general exhibits spaced throughout the show floor. Manufacturers/suppliers have the opportunity to self-select the product category where they want to participate.

“With the move to Mandalay Bay and a new facility, this provides us with a great opportunity to improve the layout,” said Yancy Weinrich, Industry Vice President, JCK Events. “We are keeping the following locations such as Design; Hall of Time; Diamond Plaza; AGTA Gem Fair; Equipment Technology Services & Supplies; LUXURY, World’s Fair, representing some 22 countries along with member pavilions; Plumb Club, Prestige Promenade and VicenzaOro Italian Club. These destinations will be strategically placed on the floor plan in an appropriately pleasing layout according to a variety of considerations on the Mandalay Bay show floor.” In addition, the prestigious brands showcased in Swiss Watch at JCK will make their debut at the Four Seasons and Mandalay Bay.

“With Mandalay Bay’s state-of-the-art facility and commitment to customer service, we are confident that this big step will offer buyers attending JCK Las Vegas, LUXURY, and Swiss Watch with an improved environment in which to conduct business,” Weinrich continued.

LUXURY expands to 7 days

Another enhancement designed to improve the JCK experience is the expansion of LUXURY at JCK show days. Typically a three-day event preceding JCK Las Vegas, LUXURY at JCK will now be extended for seven days and continue throughout JCK Las Vegas.

“We believe this gives the greatest opportunity for buyers to find the crème de la crème, the LUXURY exhibitors, in one location throughout the seven days,” Weinrich said. “All JCK buyers will have the ability to shop for LUXURY products during JCK in a comfortable and unhurried fashion from June 3 - 6, 2011 and partake in the famed LUXURY experience.”

“The JCK show has always made us feel like we are coming home to a very unique atmosphere that showcases the finest product offerings to fit all of our needs,” said Aida Alvarez, Sr. VP of Merchandising, Birks & Mayors, Tamarac, FL . “They are continually striving to be the best show possible by bringing us the newest and latest trends and the best venue for the buyers. By moving to the Mandalay Bay, JCK is looking into the future for a new innovative way to continue to strive on their strong focus in providing excellent service.”

Convenient lodging

While conducting JCK ongoing research and needs assessments to their total JCK experience, JCK buyers responded that they like their hotel accommodations to be close to the show floor while enjoying the distinctive experience of their selected hotel. The Mandalay Bay campus offers myriad hotel choices within walking distance of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center that can best be described as: “A collection of resorts designed to inspire.”

“Mandalay Bay offers so many choices from the luxurious Four Seasons hotel with private entrances and upscale sophistication and THEhotel, one of the swankiest all-suites boutique hotels on the Mandalay Bay campus to MGM Grand, and the all-new City Center which includes Aria, Vdara, Cosmopolitan and the Mandalay Bay hotel,” Weinrich said. “In addition, there are many options for buyers to choose where to spend a fun and enjoyable evening without sacrificing their precious time away from their buying excursions on the show floor.”

For additional information and updates on JCK 2011 at Mandalay Bay, visit www.JCKLasVegasShow.com.