SILMO Paris will be held on September 27th to 30th, 2019. We thank Eric Lenoir, Director of SILMO Paris for his time to give us a sneak peek of what is coming in this edition.
What new developments are you planning for the 2019 exhibition?
SILMO Paris is an event that maintains a long-term focus; we are not in a race to innovate year on year, but rather to consolidate all the elements that contribute to the exhibition’s success... especially since we offer a raft of complementary events to enhance the visitor experience for our professionals. With a thousand exhibitors expected, covering all the fields of the optics and eyewear industry, SILMO PARIS is an event dedicated to future innovations, talent promotion, professional discussions, training and information, with its four proactive and interactive “pillars”: SILMO Next, SILMO M@tch, SILMO d’Or and SILMO Academy.
The exhibition features a varied programme of Silmo workshops and special events. In your opinion, which must-do activities would you particularly recommend to visitors?
All our exhibition events bring value and each feature is a must-see! It’s up to individual participants to plan their programme: training, market information, trends… and so on. However, if we had to highlight a particular exhibition area that encapsulates SILMO, it would be SILMO NEXT: This futurology space remains the central prospective optical hub at the heart of the trade fair, with themed lectures on the markets, innovative business corners that anticipate technological changes, and a discussion space where visitors may better encounter and understand what is going to transform the optical and eyewear industry, products and distribution services.
For this edition, the concept of anticipation takes on a whole new meaning with a world première of the Silmo HACKATHON!
For 24 hours non-stop, five international multidisciplinary teams of five people each are invited to imagine tomorrow’s retail world. Open to professionals of vision, distribution, merchandising, design, social sciences, marketing and production – from the optical industry or elsewhere – this collaborative event should provide stimulating answers to the changes underway.
And because when you think anticipation, you think trends, the SILMO NEXT space features, as always, “La Sélection”, an exclusive panorama of the exhibitors’ trendy products, presented and showcased with regard to the edition of the digital magazine
TRENDS by SILMO.
What are the benefits of exhibiting at Silmo?
It's a great opportunity to be at the heart of the optical and eyewear industry, exchange views and share experiences with more than 37,000 professionals in attendance and, of course, to do business! As its name suggests, the SILMO World Optical Fair is an international-scale trade fair, with 80% of exhibitors returning year after year, a retention rate that demonstrates the appeal and level of interest shown in the event. SILMO is a profitable investment for exhibitors and visitors alike.
Can you offer any advice to someone exhibiting for the first time in Paris, and more particularly at Silmo (regulations, best practice, etiquette etc.)?
There are no prescribed rules or standards for exhibiting at SILMO. The key advice is for exhibiting companies to prepare thoroughly for their four days at the fair in order to draw the maximum number of visitors to their stand. While our role, as organisers, is to attract the largest possible number of visitors from all over the world, we cannot guarantee which stands they will visit.
Can anyone attend Silmo? How do you register?
SILMO is open to all professionals from across the optics and eyewear sector. Whether you are a visitor or an exhibitor, it is quick and easy to register; just visit our official website, which is very comprehensive and packed with information.
What is the exhibitor profile?
There is no typical profile as such; we play host to multinationals, smaller companies, startups, designers etc. SILMO’s strength lies in its diversity and variety.
What is the visitor profile?
Just as with the exhibitors, there is no specific visitor profile; you’ll find independent opticians rubbing shoulders with buyers from the major chains, media representatives, service providers etc.
What are the top five trade shows in the sector?
SILMO was the world’s first optics and eyewear trade fair, followed by MIDO in Italy. Since then, numerous other regional events have emerged, together with higher profile exhibitions including OPTI MUNICH in Germany, VISION EXPO in New York, Hong Kong Optical Fair and IOFT in Japan.
Can you give us the attendance figures from last year’s exhibition? How many visitors does the fair attract and where do they come from?
In terms of the actual breakdown for 2018, we hosted 37,337 visitors including 56% from a total of 120 countries. The bulk of attendees come from all over Europe, but every continent is represented: Asia, North America, South America, Japan, Russia, India, etc.
Finally, can you tell us how many exhibitors took part in the last SILMO exhibition and how many different nationalities were present?
Last year’s fair brought together 965 exhibitors from different 42 countries, representing a total of 1,548 brands in an exhibition space measuring 80,000m 2. As I was saying before, 80% of exhibitors are regular attendees, and around 20% are first-timers looking to take advantage of the fair’s broad appeal.
