New York – The pandemic and its impact on trade shows have forced The Plumb Club to help its members do business all year round, said president Michael Lerche. Thank you to Joshua Freedman and to Rappaport for allowing us to share this Rappaport Podcast.
The coalition of 43 jewelry suppliers has been inextricably linked to the JCK Las Vegas show since the Club’s founding, Lerche explained in an interview on the Rapaport Diamond Podcast. With the 2020 fair canceled due to Covid-19 and the outlook for future shows uncertain, the Plumb Club has launched an online sales platform and loosened a long-standing requirement for companies to exhibit at The Plumb Club’s JCK pavilion as a condition of joining the organization.
“We hope that there will be a show in 2021, and we will be there with our pavilion and supporting it 100%,” Lerche says. “But we realize also that we have to be able to reach our customers 365 days a year.”
Companies can become members of The Plumb Club by joining the new TPC-365 platform without having to commit to participating in the annual pavilion, so long as they meet the club’s other rules, Lerche noted. This will enable them to interact with retailers virtually. Existing Plumb Club members must still attend the pavilion as usual, whenever the next JCK show takes place.
JCK organizers are “on board” with the move, which will not diminish The Plumb Club’s presence at the event, a spokesperson for the show said.
