But, all it not hunky dory when it comes to few leading exhibitors. These exhibitors have been a part of the show since a decade or more and are feeling unsatisfactory about the arrangements of IIJS 2014. The reasons being: a) Delay in unveiling of floor plan; b) A huge change in the floor plan; c) The change in location of booths and d) The multi-mezzanine model.
An exhibitor of the international repute was especially perturbed about these changes and said on a condition of anonymity, “We received a circular for Booth Allotment for IIJS 2014 through mail, on May 5, 2014. The final booth allotment is to be held section-wise at a centralisedlocation from May 19 to May 24, 2014. The objective of making a new floor plan by IIJS committee was to give an entry to the new companies that were in the waitlist since many years. Hence, IIJS was keen in bringing them in, though practically there was no space in the current venue. But IIJS anyhow created the space for them by creating the new floor plan by taking some risk of building majority of booths into mezzanine floors and at what cost, by making existing companies unhappy and disappointed.”
He further added, “All the existing companies has to invest again on a new booth designing and concept asthey cannot use their old booth due to shifting of location. This is almost harassment and very disappointing for the existing companies who have continuously invested in the IIJS and contributed in making it bigger. But, the committee does not care any more. Some of committee members have been very blunt and rude. They have said to us, ‘If you don’t like the new booth location then leave it. There are many other companies in queue waiting to replace you. But, once you leave then you will never get the chance to come back in the IIJS.’ Due to this most exhibitors are worried about raising their voice and have accepted the newdisastrous locations for their booth. In my opinion, there is not charm left in IIJS.”
Swaroop Biswas, Marketing Manager of Kiran Gems was not too perturbed. “I agree that the floor plan was given to us very late. It happened due to the redoing of the locations. But, we cannot judge the committee, as we do not know the quantum of work that they must have done to completely change the floor plan. The committee works for inclusive growth and they did this to give space to new exhibitors who have been in the waiting list for many years. We cannot question the integrity of the GJEPC as it works for the entire industry and for the betterment for all. My only wish is that they could have announced these changes much earlier, probably at the last IIJS itself,” he opined.
Sanjay Shah, Owner of Gold Star Diamond Pvt Ltd was extremely agitated and stated, “The floor plan is pathetic and I am extremely unsatisfied. There are many people who are spending big money on the IIJS and now due to the change in floor plan the locations of the booths have been changed. The new locations are useless. Most of the exhibitors have received G +1 booths, which is not helpful any way. The mezzanine floors will have lesser traffic. It was necessary to have a voting system before making such a big change. Due to the change in the location, I will now have to reinvest in designing my booths, which is an additional cost. People who have requested for 8-booth plans, have their booths scatteredacross the venue. In terms of final allocation, it kept getting delayed further and further. This is way behind schedule.” When asked if he thinks that the committee may rethink the floor plan and booth allocations, he said that they would do nothing now as 600 booths have already been allocated and they will not go back on their word.
With so much anxiety amongst the exhibitors, we thought it to be right to have the viewpoint of the committee and spoke to Nirav Bhansali, the convener of the show. He explained, “If you look at the bigger picture, most exhibitors are happy with the floor plan as we have accommodated many people who have been in the waiting list for a couple of years. We have added 450 new booths. We have also segregated the sections, this year. One will see the different sections for gold jewellery, diamond, loose stone, gemstones— all sectioned in different divisions, which will make it easier for the visitors and the exhibitors. In the last seven or eight years, the show has grown a lot and all the sections were mixed but now that problem will be solved this year. There will be a harmony in the fair. To accommodate the waiting list and to facilitate segregation, a new floor plan has evolved.”
We requested him to throw light on the multi-mezzanine model, which has perplexed many. “As you know, Mumbai has a space constraint. The Bombay Exhibition Centre has a space constraint, too. If we had to grow and accommodate 450 new booths, the only way was to grow vertically. Last year we tried the four multi-mezzanine model booths and garnered a good response. This year we have introduced 50 multi-mezzanine model booths. We have also offered a substantial discount on the mezzanine floors. We have offered about 30 to 50 per cent discounts, as we understand the exhibitors’ predicament.”
When asked about the delay in floor plans reveling, he said, “To make such a big change and to include everybody is a big exercise, which took us four months to come up with this floor plan. Some time betweenJanuary end and February first week, we informed the exhibitors of this change. We asked for their preferences through the registration of preferences and then informed about the preferences to our design team, who had to come with a completely new floor plan.”
We informed him that some exhibitors wished that thecommittee should have had kept a voting system and their thoughts should have been taken into consideration. “The voting system is not possible on such a large scale. For us too, executing this new and large model sis going to be difficult in such a short period of time but we are hopeful that it will be a smooth process. One has to understand that GJEPC works for inclusive growth and is also answerable to the smaller jewellers who wanted to be a part of the show since many years. We have accommodated them this year and we have segregatedthe sections in a planned manner for a smooth exhibition experience. We know that some exhibitors are upset about the changes but we are sure they will accept it and the show will be a huge success. With the addition of new booths, we are also expecting to have 5000 to 10,000 new visitors and this is a win-win situation for all.”
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