PERSPECTIVE 26 | JNA Jan/Feb 2022 | Olivia Quiniquini 程爱莉 | 香港珠宝业的未来发展 The road ahead for HONG KONG Hong Kong association heads weigh in on the impact of the pandemic on the city’s gem and jewellery industry and reveal their vision for the sustainable growth of the sector. 香港行业协会领导就疫情对本地宝石及珠宝 业的影响发表意见，并分享了他们对行业可持续发展的愿景。 Encouraging jewellery sales and exports indicate that Hong Kong is slowly but surely regaining its footing after the main onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic. The city’s industry leaders share with JNA the factors that will affect business moving forward. Bronia Yip is the chairwoman of the Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers’ Association (HKJMA). The first woman to head HKJMA, she is the founder of Goldiaq Creation Ltd. Louis Cheung King Yau, managing director of Edelweiss Jewellery Co Ltd, leads the Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association (HKJJA) as its chairman. JNA: How did the Covid-19 pandemic affect Hong Kong’s gem and jewellery industry? HKJMA’s Bronia Yip: The Covid-19 pandemic affected global economies for over 18 months, hurting many businesses, especially the jewellery and gem sectors that rely heavily on exhibitions for their wholesale and export business. A challenge our industry had never encountered before, it forced us to completely change the way we do business. The pandemic altered the traditional order-taking pattern, fostering online transactions and accelerating the digitalisation of business operations. I am deeply proud that the Hong Kong jewellery sector was not intimidated by the challenges but quickly reoriented its focus and adapted to the ever-evolving circumstances. JNA: How is Hong Kong's jewellery sector faring in the post-lockdown era? HKJJA’s Louis Cheung: The Covid-19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the Hong Kong jewellery industry, bringing business to a complete standstill and slashing jewellery exports by 70 to 80 per cent. But since June 2021, the US market has been showing signs of recovery, reinforcing Sorbis / Shutterstock.com
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