The Jewelers of America (JA) convention will not be postponing its second annual event, instead opting for a virtual meetup from May 26th to May 28th. The fine jewelry trade organization announced the news yesterday. Originally scheduled as an event for jewelry industry professionals in New York City during the month of July, the COVID-19 pandemic has made large public gatherings such as this seem precarious. While it's uncertain if things will return to normalcy months from now, the JA decided on a virtual format for others to meet up.
“COVID-19 has completely shifted the way our industry is having to operate,” said JA president and CEO, David J. Bonaparte“The decision to transition our national convention to virtual was not an easy one to make. However, the education we had planned is extremely important for our members, and we felt it was best to push the convention up to May with the hopes that business will be in full swing as soon as possible and retailers can focus entirely on their clients and stores.”
This latest news is a small sigh of relief for industry professionals. The organized event now functions under a new name: The Jewelers of America Virtual National Convention. According to a statement by the JA, many of the events that were originally planned for this convention will go on as planned with only the aforementioned change of format. These sessions will include discussions about “keeping up with retail evolution,” said a JA statement, as well as talks on social media, security, omnichannel marketing, and investment trends.
Eight virtual sessions will take place during this event. Editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report, Charlie Cook will be featured as part of one of them. His mission is to “share his nonpartisan take on what may be one of the most critical—and contentious—election seasons ever, with control of the presidency and Congress in play.” The remaining subjects will be revealed as the organized event approaches.
Jewelers of America members and their employees will be able to attend for free while nonmembers can sign up for free during a limited time in order to watch the convention.
Information originally sourced from JCK.
