While numbers were down on both the exhibitor and visitor sides of the decor, design and lifestyle trade fair, optimism remains that better times are ahead.
Held from 5 to 9 September in Paris, Maison&Objet presented nearly 2,300 brands in its halls, a 14 per cent decrease compared to September 2023. On the visitor side there was a 10 per cent decline, especially in the number of retailers attending. Numerous factors such as the Olympics and Para-Olympics, worldwide turmoil and difficulties in the current market impacted the show’s attendance.
Designed around the inspirational theme, Terra Cosmos, trend spaces What’s New? In Décor and What’s New? In Retail took visitors through immersive experiences featuring new products created by the show’s exhibitors, the brands present at MOM and Paris Design Week participants.
Retailers were also able to benefit from ‘ready-to-use’ advice and best practices from leading industry experts at 24 coaching workshops covering the key issues for generating growth in-store.
“Together with all our teams, we are more focused than ever on providing practical solutions to our customers’ needs in a fast-changing market,” says Mélanie Leroy, managing director of Maison&Objet and SAFI.
The Rising Talent Awards: Nordic Countries showcased talent from Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. Future On Stage, the springboard dedicated to young innovative brands, showcased its three new winners in a scenographic installation in Hall 6, showcasing their flagship products and enabling them to meet buyers from all over the world.
Over the past year, the Maison&Objet teams have been actively listening to customers—brands and visitors—to better understand their needs, enabling them to identify specific expectations for each of the January and September editions.
This is what guided Leroy and the SAFI teams to begin by reinforcing the fundamentals of Maison&Objet that make it so unique: creating a premium, multi-category offering, developing its international community of qualified buyers and being more than ever the benchmark event for new lifestyle and decoration trends.
These two editions with a common base will be distinguished from each other by specific market insights to complement each other and provide effective support for customers’ business growth, adds Leroy.
“The evolution of our model has been under consideration for several months and to make it tangible we need to move forward in stages. After a transitional edition in September 2024, I’m looking forward to sharing the foundations of this new strategy in January.
“The next edition will also mark the strengthening of the Women & Design by Maison&Objet network that we have just launched, a project that is particularly close to my heart. By opening it up to the rest of the world, we aim to become a key vehicle for identifying innovative projects led by women and for raising the profile of, connecting and encouraging dialogue between women professionals in our sector.”
The next Maison&Objet is held from 16 to 20 January 2025.
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