The 2008 edition of I Saloni – which took place in Milan Fairgrounds, Rho from 16th to 21st April – recorded extraordinary results. The first estimates provided few hours after the end of the event sound incredible: 348,000 visitors, 269 percent more as compared to last year. And – hear ye! – 210,000 were foreigners, coming from Spain, Russia, France, Germany and South East Asia.
According to the first remarls, there is another interesting figure, that is an attendance increase from South America, an area that has recently proved to be giving positive signs as to import furniture.
We immediately perceived that this edition was bringing huge success, even after the first hours. A lot of people crowded every hall, and also the two huge outdoor structures – built to provide a global exhibiting surface of over 230,000 square meters (another “world record” figure…) – recorded a very high attendance level. They included Ftk – dedicated to household appliance suppliers – and SaloneSatellite, the perfect environment for new designers and new ideas.
Many people attended the event, many others were queuing up outside the exhibition center; the roads were almost jammed and the city was stormed. We knew that local authorities tried to solve this situation through specific task forces and radio broadcast to provide updated information. But the message is clear: the city (and surroundings) were stuck, kneeling down before I Saloni.
“We are absolutely satisfied with the first figures”, said Rosario Messina, President of the International Furniture Exhibition, during the last exhibition day. “This has been an incredible edition recording great success. A success that has to be shared with all industry key players, that is with exhibiting companies which – with their investments in design, innovation and communication – have played a vital role for the show success. Italy can count on some of the best companies of this industry and its products are appreciated in the whole world for the quality of raw materials as well as original design and prestigious finishing”, added Messina. “A quality recognized also by the various foreign visitors who appreciate an exhibition allowing them to get in touch with the best of made in Italy”.
“When you record such important figures, it may happen to lose sight of the real “bone of contention””. Messina called everybody to order and he said that, if the exhibition recorded great success, that was thanks to exhibitors. Their participation attracts visitors to take part to the event. Well, we undoubtedly recognize the efforts carried out by all operators of Cosmit and FieraMilano, who have successfully completed their job, proving to be able to manage a real giant, even looking at other industries. But the message is that we like to focus on this huge attendance level, and visitors still look at this industry with curiosity and interest, although furniture has not been really positive in the past few months…Saying that a good result of I Saloni opens up the door to a rally of demand might sound too optimistic, but it suggests that the next months will be better than expected. And considering that over 210 thousand visitors came to Milan from all around the world, this might be true worldwide, with benefits for the entire supply chain.
As mentioned, there were some logistic problems. In the final press release, Manlio Armellini, Cosmit General Manager, was clear: “We want to underline the support of the organization and management of Fiera Milan, who worked with us to meet the requirements of an extraordinary flow of visitors for six days”.
Real problems that were drowned by the wave of excellent proposals at the International Furniture Show, International Furniture Accessories Show, the ever-shining platform of Eurocucina and an International Bathroom Show that, year after year, really shows how this environment is changing. And the office also seems to be recovering: the biennial SaloneUfficio is nice to see, both for the atmosphere and for the design and versatility of thousands of solutions on display.
