So there we sat: Hedda Schupak, Dave Bonaparte, and me in a broken-down cab in New Delhi. Traffic rushed by on both sides as we contemplated the fact that we were going to have to leap out, dash across five lanes of traffic, and jump into the auto-rickshaw our driver had waved down. Our response? Hysterical laughter.
We laughed because that’s the Indian thing to do. We also laughed because it had been a great couple of days for us. The JCK Publishing Group, in partnership with India’s Infomedia, had just launched JCK India magazine. And The JCK Shows had just launched the first JCK New Delhi show.
JCK India will follow the same model as JCK. Written for the Indian retail and manufacturing community, it provides its readers with the latest industry news (both regional and international), exclusive editorial analysis of industry issues, the latest jewelry trends, and practical information. The JCK New Delhi show provides a new level of sophistication in the market, with a select group of the country’s best manufacturers assembled for local retailers. Both were big hits!
Congratulations go to Dave and Reed Exhibitions’ Mike Allsop and Tim Porter on the show, and to JCK India‘s executive vice president Suresh Ramakrishnan and editor Aanand Pandey. Finally, congrats to our own Kaushal Shah and her team members Shailesh Martis, Parinaz Daver, and Poonam Ghare on their role in both!
I flew to New Delhi directly from the Hong Kong show, which was brimming with energy. Our representatives Quentin Chan and Iris Lee did a terrific job introducing me to many clients and prospects over two harried days. Nighttime found me hanging out with good friends from the business, including Toros Kejejian, of Tycoon, and his wife, Lucy. I ripped up the dance floor with the city’s Beautiful People at Dragon Eye and enjoyed sushi at Tokio Joe with Alissa Goren, of the Israel Diamond Institute.
A few days after returning home, I traveled to one of my favorite jewelry industry places, Providence, R.I. There’s no question that the successes of India and China have hurt traditional American manufacturing areas like Providence. And yet we found success and optimism throughout the area. It was a thrill to visit our friends at Marathon, Imperial Deltah, W.R. Cobb, and other century-old companies and hear stories of rising sales, new marketing strategies, and online initiatives. It’s good to know we’ve still got game in the good ole U.S. of A.
See you at GIA’s Career Fair in Carlsbad, Calif.!