IWJG May 2013 Las Vegas Show Report

How good was Las Vegas? From the IWJG standpoint, it was one of, if not the largest show in our history (We won't know for sure, until we get final figures from Olga on/about Tuesday). We are thankful that the shows continue to grow, but we are even happier to hear that our members are doing well at the shows. We had many members tell us that this was one of their best shows ever from a buying and/or selling perspective. That's important to us because if you aren't doing well, as a group, we can't do well as an organization. Thank goodness we are both doing well!!!

Here is a small part of what was reported... Roman Sharf said "Alex, Gary, Arthur and I had a great show, two thumbs up". Fred Hakimian also reported in with a great show and two thumbs up. Alphonso Valencia was smiling with great show results and his best show in the last two years. Effie Rothchild from New Orleans had a great show. Tommy LaBret was all smiles from his show results and believes his hanging banners help dealers that do not come to every show find him. Joe Akar had such a great show his customers would not let him leave until 7:30PM Monday evening and he missed the reception. Greg Moss had a very good show as did Manny Fuzilov, Mark Sanchez, Ronnie Williams and the Gruenbergs. Jon Gram called in a good show report and so did Natilio Saks, Bob Wingate, Steve Fishman, Joe Demesy, Glenn Edwards, Kamran Shakibkou, Jacob Fried, Boris Shamayev, Kiki Kim and Oliver Smith. Ira Mish, Roi Zalach, and Ed Ticheli all had good solid shows.

Issac Nussbaum reported in with a very good show, he thinks his e-mail blasts, just prior to the show, are helping attendees (especially new members) find him and his great deals.

Martin Rapaport came and visited our show. He spent quite a bit of time just being with our members, his son, Ezi and daughter Penina (members). It was great to see Martin at the show. Penina reported that Rapaport had a very good show. That's a good thing. Welcome back anytime, Martin!

Peter Chou had a great show in fact his best in three years! Maricella Reyes said just one word "Wonderful". Vik Berghoudian, Newton Ng, Pietro Maglioca (on the heels of a tremendous New York show) all had very good show results and Sam Hoyt had his best show ever. What else can we say? There are so many good and very good reports but we are out of room for this issue. If you did not have a good show in Las Vegas, you were in the minority. With almost 1,400 dealers in the room, if you had the right merchandise at the right pricing, you were selling in Las Vegas. If you were buying, there was plenty of merchandise at this show and several members moved their show from good to great with their buying after 3:00 pm on Tuesday. They tell me they will never leave early again, even if they have to fly out the next day. The action was HOT... HOT... HOT... in the DESERT!!!

What was selling??? Almost anything and everything. Modern watches were selling like crazy and there was plenty of positive movement in vintage and jewelry, but loose diamonds sales were through the roof. If you wanted to sell or buy diamonds and you were even close on pricing, you had as much business as you could handle (ask Issac Nussbaum, Fred Hakimian or Effie Rothchild). We love seeing this much action from the Diamond Dealers!!!

Monday night the Tropicana treated the IWJG to a reception in the Tropicana Lounge (just off the Casino. Giorgia Mondiani and Osvaldo Patrizzi, came with their great books about watches (the best around) and were signing copies for those that wanted signed copies (who wouldn't).

The IWJG used the reception to announce a new partnership with WatchFacts that will provide the most secure buying experience on the internet for our members. The WatchFacts platform provides services including certification, inspection and payment options, not available from any other single web entity. John Cormier and Douglas Geertz (WatchFacts CEO and Chairman) were there and mixed and mingled talking all about how the WatchFacts partnership will help our members. They are excited about the association with our membership. A limited number of our members will have the opportunity to BETA test the WatchFacts System (if you would like to participate in the test, let us know ASAP. There are only a few slots available) and make recommendations for features that you feel you require to become more successful in your web based marketing. We will keep you in the loop as they roll out new applications for WatchFacts. John and Douglas, welcome aboard!

About the International Watch and Jewelry Guild (IWJG)
Since 1985, the IWJG has been conducting 12 to 14 annual cash and carry trade show events throughout the US. The members only shows are supported by over 8,200 of the world's foremost professional watch and jewelry dealers from 75 countries. The IWJG members and shows stake claim to hundreds of millions of dollars in watch and jewelry inventory. For general questions or information on becoming a member visit our website at www.iwjg.com or call us toll free at 800-554-4992. You can also visit us on Facebook at http://www.iwjg.net/facebook for more information or Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/iwjg.