Europa Star: BaselWorld is considered, to quote a movie title, ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ and can be considered as a fairly well-oiled machine. How do you see your roleı

Sylvie Sengelin-Ritter: I am lucky enough to be the Manager of an extremely fascinating event and my role, in broad terms, is to ensure that it remains so, as well as economically strong. BaselWorld is by far the largest and most significant event for the watch and jewellery industry. My aim is to maintain BaselWorld’s premium positioning as the leading watch and jewellery Show and a meeting point for the whole industry. I am also committed to developing the Show so that it constantly evolves to remain truly representative of the market. An immediate priority is to really get to know the needs of all our exhibitors and visitors – particularly buyers and retailers – as well as the press and suppliers. My objective is to develop tailored strategies in order to offer the best possible service to all of these important target groups.

ES: BaselWorld is expanding in surface, but not especially in the number of exhibitors. Because of the shortage of space there was quite a lot of criticism last year concerning the space Rolex acquired and used merely as a ‘garden’. What is your opinion on this ‘misused’ spaceı

S.S-R: Our exhibitors want to present their new products and collections in as aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching fashion as possible. The appropriate exhibition space is put at our exhibitors’ disposal for this purpose. Each individual booth is creatively designed to project the respective brand’s image. Therefore, in our view, there is no such thing as ‘misused’ space.

ES: BaselWorld is becoming more and more luxury-oriented in appearance. The last couple of years, exhibitors have been asked to upgrade their stands and many of the smaller, but nevertheless excellent manufacturers of both watches and jewellery have been forced out for economic/aesthetic reasons. Is an appearance of total luxury the aim of the show and can this concept be justified in today’s economic climateı

S.S-R: The new concept for the segmentation of Halls by sector offers both existing and new exhibitors a possibility to present themselves in an attractive way. The recently redesigned exhibition space in Hall 5 boasts an upper gallery housing ‘The Boutiques’ where very specialist watch designers and manufacturers have their stands. This new layout provides the low and middle priced watch brands with additional exhibition space, as well as offering the elite, individual designers and creators of very specialist watches an opportunity to showcase their products in an environment tailored to their business. Hall 2 offers similar such opportunities to jewellery designers and manufacturers. Furthermore, it is all the more important for every exhibitor to have a compelling Show presence in economically difficult times.

ES: 2003 was a fiasco because of the SARS scare. This year the avian bird flu is rife in China and some other Far East countries and it has just appeared in the USA. What medical precautions have been taken to avoid another catastrophic outcome to BaselWorldı

S.S-R: MCH Swiss Exhibition formed an internal task force that met regularly with the local authorities and the Federal Office for Public Health to monitor issues such as SARS and avian flu in order to develop crisis management strategies. Various scenarios have been developed and an appropriate catalogue of measures prepared. Thanks to the Show being located on one site (Basel), the flow of information is much less complex, which makes it far easier to handle any problems that may arise. All the authorities learnt a great deal from last year’s experience and are now very sensitive to any emerging issues.

ES: Can you give us a detailed description of what they can expect to find in the new Hall 6ı

S.S-R: The new Hall complex is adjacent to Hall 5 and will house the national country pavilions, presented as a unified section of the exhibition. The Hall of Universe is designed around the concept of ‘Seven Worlds’. The fully-integrated booth construction system is a first and will be adapted for the various countries in both colour and design. This innovative interior landscape will lead visitors to BaselWorld on a sensual trip through the seven worlds – America, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and other Far- and Middle-Eastern countries. The impressive new look for the Hall of Universe will further enhance the awareness and perception of the national pavilions at BaselWorld in a unique setting.

ES: Any other new developments for 2004ı

S.S-R: Not as such, however, this year’s Show does mark the Panel’s 20th anniversary. The Panel is an international tribunal composed of industry experts and legal advisors, which was introduced by the Show Management to arbitrate on alleged infringements of intellectual property law. While the problem of imitation continues to plague the industry on a global scale, the Panel has ensured a considerable reduction in the number of complaints at BaselWorld, which have now stabilised at a low level. This is also attributable in large measure to the efforts made by the participating associations who urge their members to respect intellectual property rights and provide valuable information in the run-up to trade shows. The decisions taken by the Panel provide a basis for subsequent rulings in Switzerland and other countries. The Panel has therefore become a highly regarded institution in the watch and jewellery world. From our perspective, it is important that such matters are resolved quickly without intervention by the State authorities and without publicity.