JNA Nov/ Dec 2021

焦點 JNA Nov/Dec 2021 | 13 our retail and wholesale partners. We try to understand what the consumer needs, bring in those products and propose them to our retail partners. I recommend suppliers seeking to tap the Middle East market to understand consumer needs and align their product to the market rather than just selling what they produce.” KGK has been operating in the Middle East for some 24 years now and truly believes in the potential and growth of the market, said KGK Group Vice Chairman Sanjay Kothari. “Wholesalers from Russia, CIS and Africa predominantly source gold and jewellery from Dubai, but we also offer our diamonds and diamond jewellery for their consideration. We expect industry buyers from these regions with a passion for diamonds and fine jewellery to welcome our product lines with open arms,” he said. Kothari also points to a shift in consumer demand for seemingly high-end yet affordable diamond jewellery pieces with stylish designs. Abdullah agrees. Consumer tastes in the GCC are rapidly evolving, he notes, citing the growing preference among a younger generation of consumers for smaller and trendy jewellery pieces. He said, “The Gulf has a very young population – around 65 per cent are younger than 25 years old. The charming women of the Gulf have started asking for smaller, finer and trendy jewellery pieces. They are abandoning the big and bulky designs, long necklaces and heavy pieces in favour of on-trend jewellery.” Interestingly, what jewellers lose on item weight from this trend, they make up for through volume. Consumers may be buying smaller jewellery pieces but do so more often to keep up with the latest fashion trends, the DGJG official remarked. “We now have to roll out new collections four to five times a year to keep up with market demand for fresh items. This enables us to sell more jewellery pieces and produce more designs regularly. Even though we lose metal weight due to the smaller sizes of the jewellery pieces, the sales process has become easier,” Abdullah disclosed. Potential from Africa Africa is another market showing great promise to the jewellery trade in Europe and the Middle East. Arezzo is training its sights on Africa this year and the next, declared Giordini. She revealed that Italian jewellery manufacturers invested in technology during the pandemic to enhance the production of lightweight jewellery pieces with voluminous looks catering to the African market. “We are developing the right products for the market. North Africa already delivers results for us. The next step is tapping new customers in Central and South Africa,” Giordini remarked. Countries such as Nigeria and Senegal are also growing in significance for Dubai, particularly in the value- added supply chain, Abdullah disclosed. These nations bring their gold to Dubai for production into jewellery, which is then exported to African markets. In terms of jewellery, shiny, colourful and bigger items would generally be well-received by consumers in these countries, he noted. “While some business from North Africa has shifted from the UAE to other production centres like Turkey, there has been substantial business inflows from Central Africa in the last few months,” Abdullah said. Diamond jewellery for the Dubai market by KGK Group KGK 集團為迪拜市場打造的鑽石首飾 Bridal collection by Devji Aurum Devji Aurum 的婚嫁系列