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 group. Simply observe how few folks on the prime do this. This obvious lack of ego is a welcome element in a world the place folks like to get credit score for what really took a group to perform. 

Should 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 focus on 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 “basic mannequin” and influencer, Manon Crespi, is getting every little thing able to shoot an Instagram reel with Marco shortly. Michela Moneta, his proper hand for all issues advertising and marketing, retains monitor of time and solutions.

The primary query is extra of an remark. Friday was noticeably much less crowded than in earlier editions on the identical opening day. Marco folds his arms and smiles. “Effectively 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 predicted to say no additional. However that is high quality as a result of when you might have a shockwave, even a optimistic one like in current occasions, it causes numerous points. Your entire provide chain might be affected, and merchandise might not make it to the shops on time.”

“The market is consolidating; it’d really feel completely different from the occasion vibe we had, for instance, in January,” Marco laughs, “nevertheless it’s way more sustainable now.”

“We additionally count on much less buying; inventories are nonetheless adequate in lots of instances,” says Marco Carniello. Nevertheless, consumers, 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 likely to be heading within the subsequent 18 months, and what the traits are. We pleasure ourselves on being a platform for interplay within the business. We create a wholesome and optimistic setting. We’re right here for the neighborhood that folks type inside an business.

Marco’s eyes gentle 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 numerous Glad Hours (with DJs, music, drinks, and snacks outdoor), particularly within the metropolis of Vicenza, the place there’s a lot to do. The distinctive worth is that we create the correct circumstances for alternatives in many alternative methods.”

I requested Marco Carniello what three issues he hoped VicenzaOro guests would take away as a sense. He jokingly says he needs to focus primarily on enterprise, hinting on the innate Italian aptitude for expressing feelings. That they’ve turn into extra impressed, that they’ve made not less than one beneficial 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 onerous to turn into the showcase for traits. Our advertising and marketing group 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 all over the place on the honest. We need to be a cool, hip, and vibrant setting. That is why we’re more and more branding ourselves as an organization. We need to be synonymous with the phrase “traits.” He laughs and says, “It have to be our Italian character!”

We need to be a benchmark for operational excellence. Now we have to be absolutely efficient. Vicenza is a small metropolis; we’re not likely outfitted for giant teams of individuals. There is not any airport right here, no 5-star resorts. That is why it is as much as us to make sure that the customer’s journey goes as easily as doable after they determine to come back right here. And that is mirrored on our web site; all the knowledge is geared in the direction of making it as straightforward as doable 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 group clearly feels that accountability.

, I inquired additional in regards to the benchmarking Marco Carniello talked about earlier. How does he really do this? “We primarily take a look at commerce reveals like JCK (USA) and Hong Kong and generally borrow their improvements, and so they generally borrow ours. We really need your expertise,” he nods in the direction of us and the guests within the lounge, “to be not less than as pleasant as at these gala’s, however ideally even higher. We do not see ourselves in competitors with these gala’s 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 reveals are an older enterprise mannequin.”

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

To have a purpose to exist, a platform like a commerce honest should present what the visiting jewellery or watch skilled wants. The honest has seen a requirement for extra pearls and is discussing this with Japan. A very good combine within the completely different halls is important and a mirrored image of what consumers are on the lookout for, says Marco Carniello. “We actively search suggestions from consumers,” he nods. We host 400 of them and provide numerous loyalty packages to hundreds of others. Suggestions is vastly vital to Marco and his group as a result of every little thing ensures that the customer at VicenzaOro finds precisely what they want. This impacts the admission of latest exhibitors.

Subsequent 12 months, VicenzaOro celebrates its seventieth anniversary. How will probably be celebrated shall be revealed to the press in a particular second in mid-October. We’re excited and eagerly wanting ahead to January 2024!

Subsequent dates of VicenzaOro

19-23 January 2024

6-10 September 2024