Below is what Sylvie Ritter, Managing Director BaselWorld, René Kamm, CEO MCH Group, and Jacques J. Duchêne, Chairman of the Exhibitors' Committee, said at today's press conference.
Sylvie Ritter:
Dear Sir, Dear Sirs,
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the 2013 edition of BaselWorld. The wait is finally over. Before the halls open, I would like to say a few words about this truly unique event.
This year's edition of the World Watch and Jewellery Show adds another milestone to BaselWorld's history.
We have the honour of being present for the first time in the new hall complex designed by the Basel-based architecture firm 'Herzog & de Meuron'. We can proudly say that we are in the most modern exhibition site. The high quality of the infrastructure makes it possible to achieve maximum precision on all floors of the exhibition.
Another highlight will present itself to you as soon as the curtain rises during the opening programme at 12 noon.
Over the past seven weeks, approx. 20000 people have worked in the halls and created an incomparable universe for the presentation of novelties in the world of watches and jewellery. Approx. 1000 new stands will be opened. Exhibitors in Hall 1 will receive their customers exclusively on the two- and three-storey stands.
We would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our exhibitors for their trust and many years of loyalty to us. The exhibitors' commitment, coupled with major investments in their presence at the 2013 show, will ensure that the event remains unforgettable, unique and unsurpassed. Their contribution to BaselWorld represents additional value for everyone. For this we will not cease to thank you.
This commitment alone makes BaselWorld the event it is today. Thanks to the investment of our exhibitors BaselWorld will become a unique trade fair experience worldwide. Architecture, brand design and product design come together in unique perfection and lend the highest level of lustre to every single brand present. We look forward to the novelties and innovations that will be presented in the coming days for the industry.
Inside the halls we will also present an elaborate show-layout. This concept illustrates the reality of the market and reflects the development of recent years. The watch and jewellery sectors have gradually drawn closer together in recent years and now present themselves side by side at the fair.
In Hall 1 you will find the 'Global Brands' - watch and jewellery brands with a unique global relevance.
In Hall 2, companies that are globally active in the watch and jewellery industry are presented under the heading 'International Brands'. These are also represented in various countries, although not globally.
The exhibitors of diamonds, precious stones and pearls will present their products in their own 'Stones and Pearls' sector in Hall 3. The layout of this hall has also been completely redesigned and adapted to the needs of exhibitors.
Machinery and subcontracting representatives can be found in Hall 4.
In addition, in Hall 4 you will find the 'National Pavillons' with the positioning of exhibitors by country of origin.
It is amazing what will happen over the next nine days here in Basel. The watch and jewellery industry will come together and present itself in its entirety.
BRILLANCE MEETS encapsulates what we are going to experience: Never before have so many creative personalities worked for BaselWorld to offer a unique creative diversity. It is unbelievable what know-how and passion is presented here, which thanks to you - more than 3300 press representatives - will be brought to the world.
So that you can better organise your visit to BaselWorld, I would like to briefly list some of the innovations:
- For the first time, we are publishing the BaselWorld Brand Book. This publication offers a Who-is-Who overview of the world of jewellery and watchmaking.
- We also recommend reading our BaselWorld Selection - another novelty - for an overview of stone and pearl suppliers or the machinery industry.
- Also not to be forgotten is our Daily News, which is updated daily with news from the fair and also the BaselWorld App, which is useful for finding your way around the fair.
Finally, I would also like to thank our trade fair advisors for their excellent work together and for their support, in particular Jacques J. Duchêne and François Thiébaud for their valuable advice and commitment to BaselWorld. My thanks also go to my entire team for their commitment to making the show even more superlative.
I would also like to thank you all for your presence and already wish you all a great time at BaselWorld 2013. I hope that our new Press Centre will support you optimally in your work so that you can concentrate on fully experiencing the excitement of the event, and perhaps we will meet in the evening at BaselWorld Village.
Thank you all. You make BaselWorld what it is, a unique and unparalleled global watch and jewellery fair.
I also have the pleasure of celebrating the Opening Act of the new halls with you at 12 noon in the Foyer of Hall 1.0 North. Thank you for your attention.
René Kamm:
Dear Sir, Dear Sirs,
On behalf of the MCH Group, I warmly welcome you to the press conference at the opening of the BaselWorld Watch and Jewellery Show 2013.
This year I am particularly happy and proud: tomorrow begins a new era - BaselWorld 2013 will set new standards in the exhibition world.
After about five years of development and planning and about three years of construction, we were able to commission the new hall complex on time and within budget in February 2013. With an expenditure of 430 million Swiss francs, the new hall complex is the largest investment ever made in Switzerland in the trade fair sector. More than 200 construction companies participated in the realisation of the project; during some periods more than 1,000 people worked on the construction site daily. The quantities of material used are enormous: 6,800 tonnes of steel, 43,000 cubic metres of concrete, 820 kilometres of electrical cables... You will see a few more impressive examples of these building masterpieces later.
The new structure designed by the Basel architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron perfectly combines functionality and aesthetics. With the new hall complex, Messe Basel can now offer a total exhibition area of 141,000 square metres, of which 74,000 square metres in Hall 1 alone and a total of 83,000 square metres for multi-storey stands. The large, interlinked areas in Hall 1 allow flexible management. The increased compactness of the area also results in greater comfort for visitors.
At the same time, the new building is an outstanding architectural calling card. The covered space with the remarkable skylight courtyard - the so-called City Lounge - not only emphasises the entrance to the hall, but also serves as a meeting place for visitors.
With the new structure we have created a beautiful frame - but it is only a frame. It will only fulfil its actual function when it accommodates the halls, exhibitors and visitors.
The function of the new structure could not have been fulfilled more uniquely than the BaselWorld Watch and Jewellery Show.
For many years, the show management has worked closely with exhibitors to develop a new show layout today that takes into account the trends of increasingly important brands in the watch and jewellery industry as well as the growing overlap in the different sectors.
Ms Sylvie Ritter will later show you the new concept.
What is new, however, is not only the layout of BaselWorld, but also the appearance of a large number of exhibitors. With their new and generally larger stands, they present their brands and products in an even more impressive manner. In this way, they give the exhibition a prestige never before experienced at any other trade fair in the world.
A new pavilion complex, a new way of conceiving space, new stands - all of this placed high demands on the development of BaselWorld 2013. Thousands of stand builders from abroad were employed, without whom BaselWorld would never have been possible. In this respect, we were faced with another challenge for the first time: last year, the Federal Council applied the collective labour agreement in force for the carpentry trade to the category of stand constructors. While this is feasible from a political point of view, in practice it is complicated because it does not take sufficient account of the requirements of trade fair construction in general nor of the size and international character of a world trade fair like BaselWorld in particular. The MCH Group, in co-operation with the social partners, is working on solutions to meet these special conditions.
Dear Sir, Dear Sirs,
In conclusion, I would like to sincerely thank all those who participated in the success of this year's BaselWorld:
- first and foremost our exhibitors, whose commitment made a decisive contribution to the BaselWorld event,
- the representatives of the Exhibitors' Committees for their fruitful cooperation throughout the year,
- and of course the Chairman of the Exhibitors' Committee, Mr Jacques J. Duchêne, whose many years of experience have always advised and supported us in the realisation of BaselWorld,
- and last but not least, the employees of the MCH Group and in particular the BaselWorld team for their outstanding work.
I thank you, the media, for your valuable work and the interest you always show in BaselWorld.
I wish you a pleasant stay here in Basel, which promises to be particularly impressive this year.
Jacques J. Duchêne
Dear Sir, Dear Sirs,
I would like to warmly welcome you to the World Watch and Jewellery Show, an event that brings us together every year.
On behalf of all the exhibitors taking part in this year's show, I can assure you that we are particularly proud to welcome you to this edition of BaselWorld 2013, which will undoubtedly remain with everyone for a long time.
This pride is addressed to all those who participated, from near or far, in this adventure. My thanks go first of all to all the exhibitors who invested considerable sums of money in new stands. And I would like to add that this is particularly significant as it was not us who pushed them to build new ones. Everyone had complete freedom to choose whether or not to keep their original stand.
You will see for yourself: they have spared neither money, nor effort, nor commitment to present you with stands of a sometimes surprising elegance and beauty.
But this huge and impressive project could never have been realised without some far-sighted minds. My thanks are therefore also due:
- to the management of the MCH Group and its Board of Directors in the person of Dr. Ulrich Vischer
- and to Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron who managed this project skilfully and within a very tight timeframe.
I would also like to emphasise here the tireless support from the authorities of the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, as well as from the population, who spoke out in favour of this project.
In addition, I would also like to thank the management and all the staff of BaselWorld whose remarkable commitment and support throughout the year have now enabled us to open BaselWorld 2013. I am referring in particular to CEO René Kamm, Show Director Sylvie Ritter, and Sales Director Martin Fergusson.
Thanks to their commitment, they managed to make possible what seemed seemingly impossible, i.e. to realise such a large project in such a short time, while always keeping a listening channel open with exhibitors and partners.
Thanks are also due to the many craftsmen who contributed to this success and showed enormous commitment to complete this titanic feat on time, both during the construction work and afterwards in the exhibition halls - all this under often difficult conditions.
Of course, I am also referring to the media, which, month after month, reported on the progress of the work and paid special attention to all the innovations at the exhibition. Many thanks to all of them for their loyal and solid support.
Let's take a step back into the past together: in 1999 Hall 1 was opened. We had already made great strides to make this exhibition more efficient. Today, I have to admit that the work behind us to put the new 2013 project together has completely changed the overall picture. Trying to fulfil all wishes, where possible, is often a difficult, but above all, an exciting undertaking.
In fact, everything has changed since 1999!
The mindset, the expectations, the products. The way we communicate has also evolved exponentially.
Over the last 15 years, the watch and jewellery sector has undergone a process of consolidation never experienced before, which has also been reflected in the objectives of production and distribution, which have undergone a radical transformation. It is certainly a good thing to identify changes and adapt to them; but even better is to anticipate needs in order to be able to provide an immediate response.
And that is exactly what BaselWorld has done: with the new buildings and the new infrastructure, which we are about to inaugurate today, we are looking to the future, to meet the needs of both exhibitors and the public.
For some years now we have been questioning our approach. We want to prioritise quality over quantity and we intend to continue on this path.
From our point of view, this way of proceeding is the only way to ensure that BaselWorld will continue to maintain its leading position in the watch and jewellery trade fair sector in the future, both in terms of ideas and foresight.
We certainly profit from an industry that is at the peak of its growth. Since 1999, the Swiss watch industry has doubled its exports and, moreover, broke all previous records in 2012. Today, thanks to the good performance of the industry, we are able to present the fair in its new image.
Nevertheless, we remain realistic about the future of our industry. In a global economic environment where certainty, solidity and continuity are often lacking, we must admit that the watch industry is an exception.
Despite all the uncertainties of the economic situation, we remain optimistic for this year. We believe that in 2013 exports will remain positive, the watch industry will grow further and BaselWorld will be part of that future.
Lastly, I would like to touch again on a topic that is very close to my heart. Perhaps you already know what it is: the fight against counterfeiting. We have been fighting this evil for a long time and have brought home some victories; however, we must not slacken our efforts. It is a duel without end. Each seizure is a step forward, a strip of land regained. Let us continue our commitment, not only on the side of producers, but also on the side of consumers.
On this occasion, I would like to emphasise the extraordinary work done by the Association of the Swiss Watch Industry and the BaselWorld panel, our internal arbitration commission.
Finally, I would like to sincerely thank the gentlemen of the press by inviting them, during these eight days, to be completely overwhelmed by the rhythm of BaselWorld.
Following this meeting I will of course be at your disposal for any questions, wishing you all an eventful week full of surprises.
