Editor’s Note
This excerpt highlights the distinct presence of Hong Kong exhibitors at Baselworld, focusing on accessible jewelry and watch brands rather than high-end luxury booths. It underscores the fair’s significance for Hong Kong’s luxury sector.
The large Hong Kong section in Hall 4 of Baselworld is different. Here, there are no multimillion-dollar booths and no made-up hostesses. Instead, there are small display windows with almost unknown watch brands and a multitude of jewelry and jewelry stores. The firms represented by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) had 172 booths at this year’s Baselworld.
Baselworld is important for the luxury industry in Hong Kong. For Ronald Wu from the pearl jewelry manufacturer J. Stella, it is even the “gateway to Europe.” And Allan Cheng, the managing director of Prestige Jewelry, sees the Basel fair as a “thermometer” for the entire industry.
The smell of Asian food hangs in the air, and the predominant language is Chinese. And yet, one does not feel like being in Hong Kong or Shenzhen. The ant-like hustle and bustle, so characteristic of shopping streets and markets in major Asian cities, is missing. The number of exhibitors bears no relation to the few buyers who have lost themselves in the aisles of the Hong Kong Pavilion.
However, neither he nor any other dealer wants to quantify in figures how poorly sales have gone this year. One thing is clear, however: for the jewelers from Hong Kong, Baselworld 2014 was a huge disappointment.
Things don’t look much better in the watch department of the Hong Kong Pavilion. Unlike jewelry and gemstones, watches from Hong Kong are more in the low and mid-price range. But there is not much more activity here either. This is also confirmed by Tennie Tang, marketing manager of the watch manufacturer Youngs:
If Baselworld is taken as a benchmark, the prospects for 2014 are bleak. All the more worrying is that the reasons are not as obvious as in other crisis years. SARS in 2005 or the Second Gulf War in 1991, as well as the global banking and financial crisis from 2007 onwards, were temporary external factors that burdened the luxury industry in Hong Kong. Today, dealers blame changing purchasing patterns and the generally ailing world economy for the lack of customers.
On one point, however, the dealers agree. There are simply too many jewelry fairs on the calendar now.
Hong Kong in March, Basel in April, and Las Vegas in May: it is becoming increasingly difficult for dealers and buyers to cover all the important fairs. In addition, accommodation and meals in Basel are very expensive for buyers, adds Alain Wong.
Hong Kong plays a key role in the watch and jewelry industry. Although most manufacturers have now moved production to mainland China, especially to the boomtown of Shenzhen, the company headquarters have mostly remained in Hong Kong, which is considered an international hub for the industry.
In 2013, Hong Kong exported pearls, gemstones, and semi-precious stones worth USD 16.6 billion, 12% more than the previous year. Jewelry exports increased by 6.5% compared to 2012 to USD 7.2 billion. In 2013, Hong Kong was also the world’s largest exporter of wristwatches and watches.
The main markets for Hong Kong’s luxury industry are China and India. However, the HKTDC is also pursuing a growth strategy in Europe. In 2012, the HKTDC signed a long-term contract with Baselworld. This secures Hong Kong’s participation in its own pavilion for the years 2013 to 2017, with an option for a further five years until 2022.