“Are you going to the trade fair?”

Cancelled, pushed back, rescheduled, unscheduled... The Covid pandemic hit trade fairs extremely hard, prohibiting them from fulfilling their primary role of bringing people face to face. Industry events like these were consequently left with no choice but to dream up new solutions to help their audiences keep their businesses on track, enabling them to showcase or discover new creations and buy or sell their wares. As a result, brands and buyers have found new ways of working together. 
Back in September 2020, Maison&Objet launched its inaugural Digital Fair, specifically designed for its 80,000 loyal buyers and specifiers who were used to making a beeline for the trade fair twice a year. In the end, over 214,000 unique business visitors - including 60% from overseas - visited the MOM digital platform over the course of the 2-week period, a figure that was 3 times higher than for “traditional” editions of the fair. The pandemic resulted in us not only taking stock but also questioning our very being: do we still actually need trade fairs? How many times each year? Can we still justify investing substantial sums of money in an event that only lasts a few days when new digital tools appear to generate sufficient revenue?

€70,000. That’s how much it costs Objet de Curiosité to exhibit at the fair. The small firm has been present at every edition since being set up, precisely 20 years ago, and it will be there again in September. No ifs, no buts. “The trade fair puts us under a huge amount of pressure and the financial stakes are high. But despite that, we’re over the moon to be able to get back there again!”, exclaims the brand’s co-founder, Lilau Grange-Jaricot. 
On taking over the reins of Mousse du Nord some twenty years ago, Éric Delpierre and his brother-in-law and associate, René-Jacques Dufour, decided to book a stand at a then fledgling interior design show, Maison&Objet Paris. They were the sole sofa manufacturer present at the event, putting their name to “the trade fair’s largest design piece”. This September, they will be heading to the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre once again to present their products under the Home Spirit brand. “Maison&Objet Paris continues to be an absolute must”, says Grégory Allard with a smile. I’ve attended a lot of trade fairs in my time, and as far as design fairs go, it really is the cream of the crop,” he adds. “If you want to make a name for yourself as a retailer or wholesaler, this is the place to come!” Chehoma, the firm at which he is not only a shareholder but also Head of Buying and Art Director, will also have a stand at the fair this autumn.    
There’s no doubt in buyers’ minds that trade fairs are an absolute necessity. Even the most agile and flexible buyers, who truly made the most of all the digital alternatives, are itching to actually get their hands on products once again. “Not being able to attend trade fairs makes it really hard to keep an open and creative mind, as they encourage you to broaden your horizons (...) and inspire amazement”, explains one of the buyers who responded to the buyers’ survey run by Maison&Objet in May. “Digital solutions are great, but they are certainly no substitute for engaging with a supplier directly!”, exclaims another. 

“Securing leads. That’s what it’s all about.”

Chehoma has had an active digital presence for a good many years. Its clients have access to a B2B platform developed several years ago, following in the footsteps of the retail world’s pure players. 50% of its business is done online, whilst trade fairs account for the other 50%. On finding itself deprived of its regular line-up of events, the Belgian brand was quick to react by organising a roadshow that would take it out and about to engage with clients directly. Two articulated lorries packed with the brand’s latest creations parked up in Lyons, Rennes and Bordeaux for around ten days at a time, with clients then able to make an appointment to peruse the products in person. And the return on the investment was outstanding, according to Allard. Yet that success will by no means stop the brand from continuing to attend Maison&Objet Paris. “The trade fair is crucial for reaching people who’ve never heard of you”, explains Allard, whose products are retailed in over 60 countries, having even made it as far as Ghana. And when it comes to reaching the Scandinavian countries, the roadshow clearly has its limits. “With no access to the trade fair, clients are far more reluctant to purchase big-ticket items that they haven’t actually seen, or have only viewed online. They tend to buy locally made pieces instead. It’s something we’re already witnessing,” explains Chehoma’s director. “Securing leads. That’s what it’s all about,” adds Delpierre. “Trade fairs are open house events for finding new clients and transforming prospects who come to scrutinise and touch the products.” It can be a smart development strategy when targeting a specific geographical zone, but sometimes it’s simply about being in the right place at the right time. “A client from Kazakhstan who’s working on a hotel project ended up placing orders for several tens of thousands of euros in no time at all,” explains Allard.  “These chance encounters help drive our growth and expand our customer base.” 

A relationship built on trust

Trade fairs are Meccas for networking. The latest buzzword, but one that reflects neither the intensity nor the quality of ties that are forged at Maison&Objet Paris. “Over the past 20 years, I’ve built up a really, really extensive network of contacts!” says former consultant Allard, with a smile. “There are people from the organisation, buyers and then all the other exhibitors who put their heart and soul into building their businesses, just like us!” The trade fair provides the opportunity to forge relationships built on trust, which has proved extremely useful during these unprecedented times when we’ve all needed to pull together. “We’re a family firm, and we’re extremely close to our customers. Client churn is practically non-existent. We’ve had our ups and downs, but our customers have always stuck by us. These opportunities to engage with them in person are absolutely crucial”, explains Delpierre. 

Grasping opportunities

“Meeting clients, challenging ourselves, asking ourselves what story we are trying to tell, how we want to present things. All of that results in lots of sleepless nights, but it’s also a dynamic we’ve really missed for the past year and a half”, enthuses Grange-Jaricot. “Exhibiting at the trade fair is hugely challenging for our team, but it also gives us a massive boost. It’s important to feel you’re being listened to and that people are sympathetic to what you’re trying to do. Progressive changes to the position of our stand gave us the opportunity to take things to the next level, enabling us to approach stylists and architects.” 
“There are unexpected encounters, market shifts”, comments Delpierre, whose firm, Home Spirit, initially targeted independent retailers. “Today, we’re signing more and more contracts. They weren’t even on our radar 15 years ago, yet today they represent a significant chunk of our business. It happened little by little, as we made new connections. It wasn’t our strategy at the outset.”

Sharing values 

“We don’t have a showroom. We always say that the trade fair is the best showroom we could possibly have. When we’re there, we give it our all. It’s at Maison&Objet Paris that we shine a light on the very essence of our brand. We showcase our curiosity cabinet expertise and our command of all the decorative and scientific pieces they display, underpinned by our detailed knowledge of different species...”, explains Objet de Curiosité’s co-founder. Home Spirit has spent the past 15 years or more making its production more sustainable, long before the topic became so hot. “It has become a major subject of discussion with customers. We can tell them that we’ve reduced our carbon footprint, that 80% of our purchases are made less than 65 miles from our factory... The faces behind our business are ours! At the trade fair, we can share those values with our customers.” 

On- and off-line

The complementarity between on- and off-line activities is no longer a matter of debate. The real question is how firms handle it, depending on their line of business. Home Spirit registered on MOM when the platform was first launched back in 2016. “We have a very strong presence on the platform and aim to be extremely quick to respond to any requests. Our day-to-day experience with MOM has been a real eye-opener. It’s a more linear experience, with clients approaching us. It generates lots of positive, high-quality leads.”  
Lilau Grande-Jaricot is contemplating incorporating digital solutions into the stand at the upcoming edition of the trade fair. “The problem is, clients don’t come to spend their time on screens. They want to touch and feel the products. We’ll have to find a way of combining the two,” she concedes. “Fire people’s imaginations with the products on display, and then show them that the on-stand experience can be continued online by heading to our website. The two experiences are entirely complementary.” She still has a few months left in which to address that challenge. 

The right feeling

Attending a trade fair not only has quantifiable and tangible benefits, but cultivates other less palpable benefits, too. It can provide food for thought, hone professional flair and help forge trades. “Trade fairs come with huge risks for wholesalers like us. Once our stock is out on display, that’s the real moment of truth. 
We know within a couple of hours whether or not we’ve got it right. Attending a trade fair allows us to get a much broader feeling for what people actually want, helping us identify what’s working and where there’s room for improvement.” explains Home Spirit’s director. “The topics of conversation with clients and prospects help spark ideas for the future. A trade fair like Maison&Objet Paris is a great place to spot changes in the market.” “It’s brilliant when clients come up to the stand all wide-eyed with excitement, just like children. There’s a real sense of magic, which I absolutely love. When they look at one of our objects and say, “It reminds me of a shell I picked up as a child...”, we know we’re getting things right”. “A trade fair is like a life story. It’s jam-packed with memories,” says Delpierre. “Not to mention all the amazing encounters, the super feelings, the handshakes, the “OK, let’s do it”s... And that, to be honest, is pure gold!” 
Will YOU be at the fair?

By Marie Montuir

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MAISON&OBJET PARIS

09-13 SEPT. 2021
From Thursday to Monday