The first Indo Euro Jewellery Summit, which was organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), started today. The five day summit is held at the Renaissance hotel, Mumbai. Guests of honour Anita Agnihotri, Development Commissioner of SEEPZ and Spencer Mahony, first Secretary and Head UK Trade and Investment Western India British Deputy High Commission inaugurated the summit and lighted the lamp along with Sanjay Kothari former chairman GJEPC, Filip Van Laeve, CEO Jewellers of Europe, and Rajiv Jain, Vice chairman GJEPC.

According to moderator Hemant Shah, PM &BD, GJEPC “The philosophy behind creating such an event was to create an atmosphere where in a relaxed and easy manner Indian manufacturers and European retailers interact and build relationships.” Rajiv Jain, Vice chairman, GJEPC said, “It gives me immense pleasure to announce the first ever Indo-Euro Jewellery Summit organised by GJEPC. This is an effort to bring together leading European retailers and Indian manufacturers under one roof. The summit will be a platform for the European retailers to interact with leading Indian manufacturers and also provide opportunities for the Indian participants to make great inroads into the European markets, This summit will give an insight about the European jewellery market. I request the Indian manufacturer to make most of it.” In her speech, Agnihotri briefed the European retailers about SEEPZ which houses 166 gems and jewellery units and has a representation of approximately 130 jewellery manufacturers in the country. Talking about the future plans of SEEPZ, she said plans for making the zone a no-waste zone in 2010 was on the anvil. Mahony during his presentation on India and Europe – forging new relationships, welcomed his European brethren from the jewellery industry to build relationships with their Indian counterparts. He cited the increasing purchasing power of the Indian population, India’s economic and political stability as compared to China, improving infrastructure, as some of the reasons to invest. Filip Laeve was candid when he expected more relationship building rather than striking big deals to happen and that it would take three years before reaching player level. The first day of the summit included a face off between Indian manufacturer Bombay Jewellery Manufacturers and British jewellery retailer F Hinds providing insights about the Indian industry and European market, respectively.

Around 14 retail chains from Europe and 15 Indian jewellery manufacturers are participating in the summit. The summit comprises exclusive one-on-one board meetings and visits to the manufacturer’s factory at SEEPZ. After two days of meeting, the retailer could shortlist around four manufacturers for further discussions and meetings. This shortlisting was later on extended to six manufacturers. The summit is to be concluded by a visit to the Taj Mahal, Agra.