The 40th BaselWorld watch and jewellery show closed its doors yesterday with a record 104,300 visitors and 3,320 journalists attending the Switzerland-based exhibition – the largest in Europe.
The figures show that professional attendees were up 1% on last year, with a 9% increase in journalists attending the show.
Jacques J. Duchêne chairman of the BaselWorld exhibitors’ committee, said: "It was a fascinating week and truly a good year for us exhibitors. We are highly satisfied.
“Nearly all the brands will now be investing in their new stand for BaselWorld 2013 and enhancing their presence still further. This highlights the fact that we have a great deal of confidence in this event, because the world show will be giving us exhibitors even more opportunities to experience positive development in future.”
Most brands have welcomed the show organiser’s plans to develop the site at the Basel Messe, with the halls set for a revamp, pushing next year’s show dates back to late April 2013.
Feedback from the watch brands has been positive. Patek Philippe’s international communication director Jasmina Steele said: "BaselWorld offers us a privileged opportunity to welcome our partners. We registered an exceedingly positive mood amongst our customers throughout the entire show. We are already looking forward to coming back next year.”
Likewise, both Chopard and Chanel enjoyed record numbers of visitors to their respective stands, while TAG Heure’s vice president of communication Françoise Bezzola said it would welcome new retailers as a result of the show.
“On the sales side, we were able to welcome a very large number of retailers, marking an increase of 30% over last year," said Bezzola.
"This show is a not-to-be-missed moment for all players from the world of watches. We will be increasing the size of our stand for 2013 – this will allow us to present our innovations in an even better light."
For the jewellery brands showcasing at BaselWorld, international visitors – particularly those from South East Asia – were a welcome sight.
Giuseppe Picchiotti, owner of fine jewellery brand Picchiotti, said: "We are happy in respect of the sales we have achieved. Our business with South East Asia ran very well indeed. I personally consider the move that BaselWorld will be making next year to be very important. As of 2013, we will be investing more here and our expectations will be correspondingly greater too."
More than 3,300 journalists from 70 countries attended the show, with exhibitors noting a rise in the number of digital media channels and journalists from TV and radio.
Jasmina Steele added: "We received 800 journalists at our stand, which is a considerable increase over previous years. And these included a large number of new contacts with journalists. BaselWorld enables us to personally attend to a large number of media representatives within a very short period of time."
Next year’s BaselWorld will take place between April 25 and May 2 2013.
