Jeweller - April 2020

News
JCK trade shows postponed
due to coronavirus
pandemic
Michael Hill International closes stores
Michael Hill International’s New Zealand
and Canadian stores have also been closed
indefinitely as the pandemic escalates
worldwide. Its online stores will continue
to operate; e-commerce accounts for 3 per
cent of total revenue.
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JCK Las Vegas is the US’ largest jewellery trade show.
Jewellery trade shows JCK Las Vegas and
JCK Luxury have been postponed to later in
2020, following health and safety advice from
US authorities.
JCK Luxury was due to begin on 31 May, while
JCK Las Vegas – the US’ largest jewellery trade
show – was scheduled for 2–5 June.
Organisers Reed Exhibitions and the Reed Jewelry
Group said the decision was made “after careful
consideration and comprehensive discussions”.
“After consulting with national experts, our
customer, and closely monitoring developments
and reviewing guidance and advice from
renowned national public health officials, the
United States Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health
Organization (WHO), we have decided it is in
the best interest of all our JCK community to
postpone the show,” a statement read.
While Reed confirmed the show would be
rescheduled, no new dates had been announced
at the time of publication.
The decision to postpone the event was announced
on 18 March, following an increase in the number
of US coronavirus cases to more than 9,000.
By 29 March, the case figure had risen to more
than 124,000, with the US surpassing Italy as
the country with the highest number of active
coronavirus patients.
At the time of publication, there had been
188,000 cases with at least 3,600 fatalities.
In response to the crisis, the US Department of
State has introduced a temporary ban on travel
to the US from China, Iran, the European Union,
Switzerland and the UK, and closed its border
with Canada for non-essential travel.
The US Congress also passed a $US2 trillion
package to support businesses and taxpayers.
On 24 March, the Australian government
announced a ban on all international travel.
Michael Hill has closed stores in Canada, New
Zealand and Australia and stood down staff.
Following the Australian Government’s
guideline for all non-essential stores to cease
trading in order to curb the spread of the
coronavirus, Michael Hill International closed
all 165 Australian stores for an indefinite
period from 23 March.
Australia is the company’s largest market,
accounting for 55 per cent of revenue.
In a statement, the company said it would
“re-open as soon as we are given approval
by government health authorities”.
The company noted a significant “drop off in
trade” in Australia prior to the store closures,
which reflected “a customer base that is, of
course, focused on more immediate issues”.
Nationwide buying group cancels
Noumea conference
The annual Nationwide buying group
members’ conference, which was scheduled
for June, will no longer take place.
The four-day event was to be held at the Le
Meridien Resort & Spa in Noumea, New
Caledonia, and some airfares for members
and suppliers had already been booked.
However, Nationwide Jewellers management
decided to reschedule the event following
travel warnings issued by the Australian and
New Zealand governments, in light of the
ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Colin Pocklington, managing director
Nationwide Jewellers, said, “In the interests
of the health and safety of members,
suppliers and staff, we have decided to defer
the Noumea conference until May-June 2021.
We will advise a precise date in a few weeks
after discussions with the hotel.”
The event had seen a high volume of member
bookings, exceeding the number that had
signed up for last year’s conference at the
same point.
Crystal Vilkaitis, a US retail marketing
Emma Hill, chair Michael Hill International
board of directors, said, “The board and
management team have acted swiftly today
following the extraordinary circumstances
that are impacting the Australian and New
Zealand retail markets.”
The company confirmed that staff would be
‘stood down’ with full leave entitlements and
its head office in Brisbane would also be
reviewed “with a view to reducing costs”.
It has approximately 2,500 permanent
employees across retail, administration
and manufacturing.
Daniel Bracken, CEO Michael Hill
International, said the company would take
“all necessary actions to reduce our costs...
so that they better match the very subdued
consumer demand in all our markets”.
Michael Hill International’s share price fell
more than 20 per cent on Monday 23 March.
It has deferred payment of dividends.
specialist, was due to give the keynote
presentation and advanced workshops
for members.
Pocklington confirmed that Nationwide
staff were working on transferring prebooked
airfares for members and
suppliers to next year.
At the time of publication, Air Calin flights
had been successfully rebooked at no extra
cost, while changes to Qantas and Air New
Zealand bookings had not been finalised.
Members will be advised as soon as details
are confirmed.
However, Pocklington remained optimistic
for the 2021 conference, which will mark
Nationwide Jewellers’ 30th anniversary.
“Hopefully the world will be back to normal
by mid-2021, and we can look forward to
what should be one of our best conferences
ever in terms of attendance and location.
“This will be a great event to look forward to.”
Nationwide has 399 members across
Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, operating
461 stores.
10 | April 2020