This afternoon we will officially know how many people – operators and private visitors – have crossed the gates of Fiera Milano from last Tuesday to today, to participate in the 61st edition of the Milan Furniture Fair. The organizers are not making too much of it yet (since Sunday admissions are still missing), but they confirm that the data is higher than expected, with good growth in professional visitors compared to last year and a gradual rapprochement to 2019 levels. It is not improbable in any case that the final figure is close to 300,000 visitors to the fair.
Crowded stands and increasing turnout
But there’s no need to wait for the official numbers to confirm that Salone 2023 was a success. It was enough to walk the corridors of the fair on any day of the week, observe the faces and listen to languages from all over the world, to realize how much this event is still an essential event for those who work in the furniture sector, whether they are producers , retailers, planners or interior designers. Just listen to the comments of the many exhibitors present with their brands, who express enthusiasm and surprise at the quantity and quality of visitors. «We had to limit admissions to allow those who entered to see the new collections calmly», says for example Marco Piscitelli, CEO of Molteni&C, who adds: «As far as we are concerned, I believe that the final balance will be even higher than that of the 2019. In any case, with this edition we have put the Covid period behind us». Attendance on the rise also for the Veneto company Lago, which in the first two days alone reached 10,000 accesses, more than doubling last year’s number. «We had an average of 9-10 thousand visitors a day – says Claudio Luti, president of Kartell -. But more than the numbers, the important aspect is that the customers sat down at the table and finalized their orders and we also made many new contacts».
A decisive business moment for the sector
Yes, because companies work and sign orders at this fair. «The Salone confirms itself as a great engine for the system, capable of optimizing times and enhancing our businesses», says Maria Porro, president of the Salone, who takes stock of this edition full of novelties, from the new layout of Euroluce to the arrangement of all stands on one level. «Exhibitors and visitors appreciated these transformations – she explains – and the digital tools made available to better manage visitor flows, which we will try to further improve in the coming months». Also for Claudio Feltrin, president of FederlegnoArredo, the new format of Euroluce was a challenge won: «We know that exhibitions must change and evolve, to continue playing an important role in the business of companies and with Euroluce we have shown that it can be done Feltrin explains. It is a process of change, necessarily undertaken during the pandemic, but which looks beyond the pandemic and will continue to evolve, also extending to other areas of the Salone”. Another aspect of great satisfaction is the foreign presence, which reached 66% of visitors, with a higher-than-expected return from China, once again at the top of the list of arrival countries (according to Friday evening’s surveys), followed by Germany, France, the United States, Brazil, Spain and India. Historical markets and emerging markets, therefore, to which must be added the African ones, which are also on the increase. «The Salone always provides surprises – observes Massimiliano Messina, president of Flou -. Normally we have to travel around the world in search of partners and often, especially for smaller companies, it is not easy to approach certain countries. Here instead it is the world that comes looking for us and unexpected contacts and projects are set up».
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The success of the new Euroluce
The foreign presence among exhibitors is also growing, with 34% of the total, says Maria Porro. Among the debuts at the Salone are the ten Danish furniture and lighting companies gathered in the Danish Pavilion which exhibited at Euroluce: «It is the first time we have come here – explains Søren Falck, trade fair manager of the Dansk Industri industrial association which organized this project -. In the past we have always participated in the Light+Building fair in Frankfurt, but this year we decided to come to Milan and I must say that we are very happy with the location within Euoluce». We liked the “democratic” aspect of the layout of the new Euroluce project designed by the Lombardini22 studio, conceived as a serpentine path that does not penalize anyone (as happens instead in the traditional grid layout of fairs) and onto which the open stands of the companies, designed to immediately give the visitor an idea of the present proposal – possibly to be discovered and explored. «We hadn’t been to Euroluce for a few years and we’re happy to be back, this model convinces us a lot – confirms Marco Pozzo, CEO of FontanaArte -. It was truly an extraordinary edition, with an incredible flow of visitors from all over the world, especially from Asia. Many geographies at this year’s Show. It is an aspect that has struck many exhibitors, perhaps because there hasn’t been such an influx of foreign operators for four years. Many and “serious”, as observed by Paolo Castelli, president of the Bolognese company of the same name, who this year has however decided to present a collection designed above all to reach Italian customers and grow on the domestic market.