Hedda Schupak

Should You Go To Basel?
March 15, 2007

March usually signals the first crocuses and daffodils, an occasional surprise blizzard, but among jewelry people, always talk of Basel and Geneva. Is one going--or, more to the point, for how long, and where is one staying? 
The lack of sufficient hotel rooms in Basel is legendary. You'd think the Swiss--masters of efficiency and precision otherwise--would have figured out something far more convenient than Zurich, Germany, and France for lodging options.
But I digress. The real point is, as a retailer, what can you get out of going to the Swiss fairs?
JCK's bimonthly watch columnist Steven Kaiser has put together a handy guide for retailers heading to Basel and Geneva, to help them make the best use of their time and resources. Here it is:

Why should retailers travel to Switzerland to Basel and Geneva for the annual tradeshows?

• New collections for every brand are presented at these trade shows.
• It is important to meet with the brands you are doing business with for the following reasons:
• See the new collection
• See the marketing materials the brands are using
• Display / presentation
• Pick some of the special pieces that other retailers don’t have access to
• Educate yourself about the spirit of the brand and get a better understanding of the brands vision worldwide.
• This will allow you to go back and train/educate your staff so that they are better informed about the brand
• Meeting with global brand executive that you would not normally come into contact with
• This will also help you learn more about the brand
• Meeting with distributors in other markets
• Helps you learn what markets the brand is doing well in. This can help in your market with your clientele.
• Shows a certain amount of respect to the brand by traveling to the show.

Why retailers should spend time looking at and educating themselves on brand they they DON’T currently carry in their own store?

• See what brands are out there!
• It is important for retailers to be aware of new brands as well as established brands.
• Allows you to educate their own staff about other brands so that if they can be aware of other brands if a customer approaches the about one.
• Also good to go over with your staff other brands and the reason why your particular store does not carry them.
• The more information you and your staff have about various brands, it allows you to speak more intelligently about the industry to your customers.

How to prepare before getting to the show and meeting with brand?

• Make sure you set up appointments early to ensure that you get an appointment and you can plan you schedule accordingly
• Make it a point to be ON TIME for all of your appointments; Brands truly appreciate it!
• Doing your homework
• Know your total inventory
• Know your inventory by brand
• Have these numbers on hand will allow you to know your total open to buy and your open to buy by brand.
• Make sure to get your basic pieces before selecting special/limited pieces for your inventory.
• Bring picture of current inventory to make sure you don’t over lap in both
• Price points
• Styles
• If you are entertaining a new brand make sure that you don’t overlap/ styleprice points, make sure you have the open to buy and that taking on a new brand does NOT come a the expense of an existing brand.

While you are attending The Basel Fair / SIHH – Geneva you might also want to do the following:

• Interact with other American retailers
• Learn about what you are doing right and what you can do better
• Marketing
• Co-op
• Brands and styles that are selling and the ones that are not
• Learn about how brands are doing in different parts of the country
• Develop good solid contacts in the industry
• Bounce different ideas off other retailers

• Basel is a great place to meet with other manufacturers
• Box manufacturers
• Display manufacturers
• Jewelry manufacturers
• Strap/Bracelet manufacturers

• It might also be educational to visit some of the retail stores in the area
• Find out what brands they are carrying
• What brands are doing well
• View the displays

The Basel Fair is an annual event that is open to the public and all retailers.SIHH –Geneva is an annual by invitation-only event for the Richemont Group and various other selected brands.

Posted by Hedda Schupak on March 15, 2007 | Comments (2)