Hong Kong: In October, Platinum Guild International (PGI) hosted the two-day 2019 Platinum Jewellery Business Forum in China’s jewellery manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, which received widespread attention within the platinum and jewellery industry. The Business Forum was attended by leaders and distinguished guests from along with top figures and experts both from China and overseas. The theme for the forum revolved around future trends for China’s platinum jewellery market and PGI China’s new strategy, branding, marketing, and cooperation tactics, all aimed at bringing more growth opportunities for China’s platinum jewellery industry and creating a “second wave” for the platinum consumer market.
“Businesses today cannot advance by standing still, and we designed this forum to inform and inspire the industry to continue on this journey, and to do it in a spirit of partnership with each other,” says Huw Daniel, CEO of PGI in his opening speech. “PGI believes that sharing insights and collaboration are the best ways to lead the platinum jewellery industry, to deal with new challenges, to understand industry trends, and to seize opportunities that increase sales in China’s consumer market.”
Day 1: Professional Views on the Future of Platinum and Jewellery Consumers
In a series of speeches and presentations, industry leaders from Anglo American, SFA (Oxford) and Kantar Group touched on topics including market fundamentals on platinum group metals, identifying proactive steps that can boost demand, insights on current consumer trends and market forecast including the growing importance of Chinese consumers as the main force of global luxury consumption and young adults as the driving force in the future.
In response to the future development of China’s platinum jewellery market, Pui Poon, Managing Director of PGI China put forward the 2019-2020 strategic growth plan: “In the future, we will focus on the five “P”s of marketing, that is, product, price, promotion, place and people. We hope that through our repeated practices, we will form a mature and viable success model and create a ripple effect in the industry to inspire greater innovation in all aspects of the platinum jewellery market.”
Grace He, Strategic Planning Director of PGI China, elaborated on PGI China’s new brand architecture and the new “Platinum Reboot” programme for 2019/2020, which will help strategic partners advance business transformation and gain segmented market share through multi-dimension innovations in brand positioning, design, technology and marketing.
Rajesh Rajendran, Trade Marketing & Development Director of PGI India, shared results that Platinum has been the best performing jewellery category in the last four years in the Indian jewellery market, thanks to the growing significance of millennial consumers and higher margins that platinum offers Indian jewellers. These findings lead PGI to forecast that platinum jewellery will continue to grow in the region.
Jewellery brand representatives from Lukfook, Wuhan Xinjin Jewellery and Shenyang Cuihua Jewellery, shared their own brand’s innovative journey’s and thoughts on the future direction and development of their platinum jewellery business.
Day 2: Multi-dimensional Innovation and Collaboration Needed to Achieve Optimal Value
On the second day, exhibitors of various leading jewellery brands showcased new and distinctive pieces in the Platinum Jewellery Industry Exhibition, highlighting both fashionable design and advanced craftsmanship to expand the market potential of platinum jewellery in China today.
The platinum booths displayed the newest platinum jewellery brought by various exhibitors. With intelligent holographic imaging touching upon the traditional and modern versatility of platinum culture, a 3D visual feast was created to display new platinum jewellery products with integrated multi-dimensional means alongside the latest platinum campaigns, fashion trends, and innovative craftsmanship. PGI has worked together with shopping malls in various regions as well as multiple well-known jewellery brands to jointly organise the “Eternal Platinum Love” campaign with 300,000 consumer participants. The campaign successfully promoted platinum jewellery’s market development and established closer collaboration with the jewellery industry.
In the Platinum Jewellery Design and Technical Forum, industry professionals from China and overseas shared insights on platinum design and casting production and the latest design trends of platinum jewellery, particularly regarding the Chinese market. Tai Wong, Business Development Director of PGI China, sketched platinum designs for the segmented self-purchase market.
Acceleration and Transformation Drive the Future of Platinum in China
The Chinese market is undergoing a fundamental transformation. The younger generation is gradually becoming the most important jewellery consumer group. At the same time, the business model of platinum jewellery is also changing, due to the influence of new media and omni-channel marketing. Transitioning from a production-centric business model to consumer-centric business model is critical to achieve success in the platinum jewellery market.
PGI aims to provide a strong platform to support new products, facilitate technology innovation through the forum, and helping strategic partners achieve business transformation and continuously gain market share through multi-pronged innovations in areas like brand repositioning, marketing, occasions rebuilding and design technology upgrading.
The 2019 Platinum Jewellery Business Forum comes only a month after PGI opened the doors to its first platinum jewellery showroom in Shenzhen, China. The state-of-the-art showroom provides a stronger presence for platinum jewellery in the traditionally gold-intensive jewellery manufacturing hub of China, and will further showcase the platinum jewellery industry’s advanced craftsmanship and cutting-edge designs to expand business potential in China.
PGI, together with various platinum industry leaders, will continue to provide new development opportunities for China’s platinum industry, to set a good example in the industry, to lead the market and to restore industry confidence.
