I should explain that a jewelry “show” isn’t a play or a talent competition although there was more drama here than one could find on Broadway. It’s an event for Jewelry store buyers to find new sources and see new products from their established lines. Granted I may be just a tad bit biased but let me describe the show by comparing bead brands. This will be a micro view into what the show is for all exhibiting brands through a seasoned (or skeptical) retailer’s eyes. To be fair to the Trollbeads competitors I should explain how the company paid for most of its 1000 U.S. retailers travel and accommodations to the show and for the 2 days before the show hosted an event that I can honestly say was the best run, most educational and inspiring event I have attended in 3 decades of retailing. Not only was it well run it was run from the heart of Trollbeads and at the final dinner there were few dry eyes. There were tears of gratitude and pride for being a part of this remarkable company. How many retailers are made to feel a part of a company they buy from? How many other companies have a soul like Trollbeads has? Speaking on the Trollbeads soul I need to reveal here that the competition is something Trollbeads doesn’t wish their retailers to be discussing in any negative light but I just can’t help myself. They believe you should never say anything bad about the other bead companies. If you can’t say something nice you should keep your thoughts to yourself. I agree with this so to be clear just let me just describe what I saw without judgment.
The show consists of over 50,000 square feet of exhibition space and it was huge.The booths range in size and I am guessing the Trollbeads booth was 1000 square feet. It was a new design and it was very handsome in all respects from the materials used and the various features. The booth succeeded in reflecting the design acumen of the Trollbeads brand. On the same floor was the Chamilia booth. Now I am trying to be fair and unbiased but you couldn’t miss it even if you tried and I did. It was enormous and showy. The company is either owned by or about to be owned by Swarovski Crystal, a mega company from Austria with over 25,000 employees. All you have to do is look at the Chamilia beads and you know there is a large crystal aspect to the line. The beads have a lot of glitter and were very cute. This booth was not only immense it had bright colors vying for buyers attention in case the two level booth the size of 4 regular booths didn’t get your attention. A player in the top 3 bead brands and another copycat brand riding on Trollbeads original design.
The other much larger brand Pandora was showing upstairs in a much fancier area but that goes hand in hand with Pandora’s direction. The original copycat of Trollbeads, Pandora has been trying to present itself as an upscale jewelry brand for a couple of years so it seems they are still trying. Remember, Las Vegas is a city of illusions. The company is a huge multi-conglomerate brand and depending on who you talk to they have also have a huge multi-level personality to go with it (the Danish arm went public in 2011 but crashed to the lowest prices on the DK stock exchange to the pain of its original investors) but I digress. Going back to the theme as I did with Trollbeads and Chamalia the sales area (can hardly call it a booth) was reflective of the beads…attempting to be something they aren’t but hope the hype and grand performance can bring them the respect of other large jewelry brands. My main observation was they may have changed their stripes but they are still out to copy Trollbeads. At the June 2011 JCK show in Vegas Trollbeads had a live glass bead making demonstration and it drew a lot of attention as it brought the retailer closer to the creation of the beads and closer to the font of creativity. Trollbeads continues to have this at all shows. Guess what? Pandora now has come up with the same demo but had 3 of them! For a company never known for its glass quality it’s too much of a reach and shows no matter how many times larger the company is to Trollbeads they still are compelled to copy them. In closing I have to say I tried not to say anything bad about the competition and I didn’t, well not really. I was just describing what I saw and what I have taken away from the Vegas show is summed up in the the old adage… less is more.