Sitting down with Marco Carniello, International Exhibition Director Jewelry & Vogue IEG, at VicenzaOro

I all the time like to get insights from VicenzaOro’s frontman, Marco Carniello. One of many issues that stands out is his razor-sharp focus and real curiosity in folks. On Sunday tenth of September, at 9:00 am within the morning, I had the pleasure to interview Marco about VicenzaOro. 

At any time when I communicate with Marco Carniello, I am struck by his modest, partaking demeanor. However make no mistake, this man possesses a razor-sharp focus and a real appreciation for teamwork. He by no means talks about himself; it is all the time about his staff. Simply observe how few folks on the prime try this. This obvious lack of ego is a welcome element in a world the place folks like to get credit score for what truly took a staff to perform. 

When you’ve seen Marco Carniello strolling across the commerce honest, you could not have missed him; this cycling-loving International Director of Vogue and Jewellery for IEG, the commerce present organizer, appears to know everybody. Marco is a shining instance of a contemporary chief, empathetic and engaged, but with a razor-sharp imaginative and prescient and clear targets. He by no means talks about himself however all the time about his Golden Workforce of colleagues, and he would not hesitate to spotlight the roles of others.

On this interview, I sat down with him within the Welcome Lounge. A German colleague is listening in, and an American “traditional mannequin” and influencer, Manon Crespi, is getting every part able to shoot an Instagram reel with Marco shortly. Michela Moneta, his proper hand for all issues advertising, retains monitor of time and solutions.

The primary query is extra of an commentary. Friday was noticeably much less crowded than in earlier editions on the identical opening day. Marco folds his arms and smiles. “Properly noticed! We see a lower in attendance on this version; it is a quieter begin. We had important will increase in earlier editions, even a +20%. Now, we’re seeing a +9% (correction on the finish of the honest: +6%), which is anticipated to say no additional. However that is tremendous as a result of when you’ve a shockwave, even a constructive one like in latest occasions, it causes varied points. Your complete provide chain may be affected, and merchandise could not make it to the shops on time.”

“The market is consolidating; it would really feel totally different from the get together vibe we had, for instance, in January,” Marco laughs, “however it’s rather more sustainable now.”

“We additionally anticipate much less buying; inventories are nonetheless adequate in lots of circumstances,” says Marco Carniello. Nevertheless, patrons, retailers, and wholesalers are nonetheless coming to VicenzaOro. That is important as a result of they arrive to us for inspiration, to see the place the market is perhaps heading within the subsequent 18 months, and what the tendencies are. We pleasure ourselves on being a platform for interplay within the business. We create a wholesome and constructive atmosphere. We’re right here for the group that individuals type inside an business.

Marco’s eyes mild up, and he sits up straighter. “Look, we like to think about ourselves a platform of alternatives. That does not simply imply a brand new transaction. We’re a platform for high-quality data and training. We’re additionally the networking platform. That is why we make investments closely in occasions each on the honest and round it, like the various Pleased Hours (with DJs, music, drinks, and snacks open air), particularly within the metropolis of Vicenza, the place there’s a lot to do. The distinctive worth is that we create the suitable situations for alternatives in many various methods.”

I requested Marco Carniello what three issues he hoped VicenzaOro guests would take away as a sense. He jokingly says he desires to focus primarily on enterprise, hinting on the innate Italian aptitude for expressing feelings. That they’ve grow to be extra impressed, that they’ve made no less than one invaluable new contact, and that they’ve found one new provider. The common purchaser stays right here for 2 days, so we hope our hashtag #discovermore has labored for them. We work laborious to grow to be the showcase for tendencies. Our advertising staff may be very energetic in strengthening this picture on-line and offline; all the way down to the smallest particulars, he factors to a blue transferring decoration in every single place on the honest. We wish to be a cool, hip, and vibrant atmosphere. That is why we’re more and more branding ourselves as an organization. We wish to be synonymous with the phrase “tendencies.” He laughs and says, “It have to be our Italian character!”

We wish to be a benchmark for operational excellence. Now we have to be absolutely efficient. Vicenza is a small metropolis; we’re probably not outfitted for big teams of individuals. There is no airport right here, no 5-star accommodations. That is why it is as much as us to make sure that the customer’s journey goes as easily as attainable after they determine to come back right here. And that is mirrored on our web site; all the knowledge is geared in direction of making it as straightforward as attainable for the customer. Marco emphasizes what is usually underestimated: the appreciation for the hassle folks put into attending a commerce honest. There have to be a way of ROI for the customer, and the VicenzaOro staff clearly feels that duty.

, I inquired additional concerning the benchmarking Marco Carniello talked about earlier. How does he truly try this? “We primarily take a look at commerce exhibits like JCK (USA) and Hong Kong and generally borrow their improvements, and so they generally borrow ours. We truly need your expertise,” he nods in direction of us and the guests within the lounge, “to be no less than as satisfying as at these festivals, however ideally even higher. We do not see ourselves in competitors with these festivals however extra as ‘co-opetition’ (as in Dubai, the place VO is a part of the honest). It is vital to maintain transferring, to innovate as a result of commerce exhibits are an older enterprise mannequin.”

That is why we’re continually testing new codecs like VO’Clock, the place the watch group has already linked on-line properly prematurely and the place we offer the chance for a bodily gathering. We by no means drive the matters that the assorted authorities and specialists deliver to the stage. We’re not the authority; we’re a platform.

To have a cause to exist, a platform like a commerce honest should present what the visiting jewellery or watch skilled wants. The honest has observed a requirement for extra pearls and is discussing this with Japan. combine within the totally different halls is important and a mirrored image of what patrons are on the lookout for, says Marco Carniello. “We actively search suggestions from patrons,” he nods. We host 400 of them and provide varied loyalty applications to 1000’s of others. Suggestions is vastly vital to Marco and his staff as a result of every part ensures that the client at VicenzaOro finds precisely what they want. This impacts the admission of recent exhibitors.

Subsequent yr, VicenzaOro celebrates its seventieth anniversary. How will probably be celebrated might be revealed to the press in a particular second in mid-October. We’re excited and eagerly trying ahead to January 2024!

Subsequent dates of VicenzaOro

19-23 January 2024

6-10 September 2024