Première Vision Pluriel — Crisis? What crisis?

By

Jean-Paul Leroy

Published
Sep 28, 2012

Among the major international fairs of the season that take place in Paris or elsewhere, Première Vision is virtually an exception. The French trade show just concluded an extraordinary edition, according to its organizers. And in fact, this is undoubtedly one of the few events of its type to have recorded an increase in visitors. And how!

The Première Vision Pluriel company claims 4% growth in the number of visitors, for a total of 60,716 professionals. It is a figure all the more gratifying since the show had already chalked up a 9% increase in the number of exhibitors to 1,867.

The percentage of international visitors was 70% of the show's total gate. This means that Première Vision Pluriel is not a French trade show with an international dimension but an international exhibition that is held in Paris.

The Première Vision and Expofil sections together registered a very slight uptick in the number of visitors, +0.2% for a total of 46,266. The event is even reporting an increase of 6.9% compared to February 2012. For these two sections, the number of foreign visitors broke a record at 73% or 33,819 buyers. The Indigo Paris Edition Mode section brought in 14,067 visitors versus 14,050 in September 2011. Show organizers point out that the 194 exhibitors in this section was the highest number ever since the start of the 2008 financial crisis. The percentage of foreign visitors was very high at 72%.

ModAmont meanwhile showed a 3.8% rise in visitors or 22,344 compared to September 2011. The percentage of foreigners remained stable at 60% in attendance.

Regarding foreign visitors to Première Vision and Expofil, the nationalities varied depending on the trade show section. The European Union was generally stable, and even buyers from Southern European countries were not lacking. The Italians numbered 3,767 (+0.6%) and Spanish buyers were virtually at the same level with 2,480 visitors. The number of French dropped by only 0.9%. Denmark was up +14%, Belgium +9% and the Netherlands +4%. Russian visitors increased by 6% and Ukrainian visitors were up a whole 47%! Buyers from Turkey increased by 1% or 1,268.

Americans came back in force with an increase of 8% for 2,156 visitors. 1,646 Japanese attended, representing an increase of 19%. However, the organizers said there was a 23% decline among Korean visitors "for which we currently have no explanation," said the show. China sent 1,646 buyers (+11%) while Brazil was represented by 555 (+4%).

At ModAmont, the visitor numbers from almost all European countries were on the rise. For example, the Italians numbered 2,036 (+16%) and the Spanish accounted for 1,088 (+12%). Regarding the big export business, the United States remained stable with 517 visitors. Japan continued the committed growth seen over the last four editions with an increase of 27% (391 visitors).

It should be noted that the show recorded such increases despite its third day falling on a Friday instead of a Thursday, which is usually more difficult in terms of attendance. Paolo Mosca, a designer for Replay Italy said, "it is the most important showcase in the world for sourcing textiles, accessories, trends and colors."

Many exhibitors and visitors were satisfied with the event and its appeal. "The show was surprising. There wasn’t any feeling of the economic crisis. On the contrary, there is a mood of optimism among exhibitors," said Olivia Merquior, international manager for the Brazilian Gruppo Saccada.