32 minute read
EVENTS
LONG OVERDUE
Following several false starts, Spring Long Point is finally upon us – and a welcome sourcing opportunity for buyers keen to peruse the latest from a selection of leading UK and international upholstery, cabinet, bedroom and lifestyle accessories brands …
www.longeatonguild.co.uk
Taking place in Long Eaton from 2427th May, Spring Long Point is set to finally break the industry’s trade show fast. Organised by the Long Eaton Guild of Furniture Manufacturers, the biannual fair differs from the trade show norm as it takes place across the Derbyshire town’s myriad furniture showrooms and mills, making it an intimate and inspiring experience, yet enabling visitors to keep a safe distance if required.
Westfield, Artistic Upholstery
“Long Point enjoys the reputation of being the most relaxed and enjoyable furniture exhibition within the UK,” says the guild’s chairman, Andrew Mitchell. “Our autumn event last year was an endorsement of this, when, under strict Covid-19 rules, the sound of manufacturers and retailers enjoying meeting face to face for the first time in months in relaxed surroundings echoed throughout the showrooms.
“Long Eaton continues to be the ideal location for a furniture exhibition, further endorsed by the addition of three new locations and six major brands joining us.
“All signs indicate a growth in furniture sales now that restrictions have been eased, and we hope that you will take this opportunity of viewing the latest collections from all exhibitors.”
Iain James will present its successful Burr Walnut and Rosewood collections. It says the timeless walnut look sits
AMC 312 and 310, Iain James Furniture Hurst, G Plan
Bardot, Spink & Edgar Upholstery Riviera, Alf
well with upper-end upholstery ranges, while its Rosewood pieces offer a more contemporary twist.
Spink & Edgar Upholstery will launch Bardot, a model based on a glamorous modern classic with an art deco twist. The collection features GP &J Baker printed velvets, while Spink & Edgar pocket springs offer comfort and support.
Tamarisk Designs will introduce its Walcot upholstery collection, which features feather seats and backs with ibre lumbar support and two added feather channels, while Tetrad will present new collections including the Amilie, a modern take on a casual design, with pillow-edge scatter detail.
Carlton Furniture says it has spent the last 12 months innovating and exploring new products, and is looking forward to revealing them – while Italian brands Alf and Bontempi will make their Long Point debut in Harrington Mills, and will remain there for the foreseeable future, with the promise of a rolling launch programme. Read on to discover more about this edition’s highlights.
As well as the established showrooms in central Long Eaton, this year’s show encompasses several hotel locations: Holiday Inn; Novotel (for a 12% discount on room rate, quote ‘Long Eaton Exhibition’; and the nearby Village Hotel (for a 10% discount on room rate, quote ‘COR10’).
The show is open from 9am-5pm daily, and courtesy transport is available to and from East Midlands Airport and Long Eaton Railway Station to all showroom location – call the exhibition helpline on 0115 973 4481 for assistance
Amilie, Tetrad Metz in Champagne, Wiemann
Ashbourne, Parker Knoll Holcot table and Bari chair, Carlton Furniture
Roma, Sherborne luxury velvets, Tamarisk Designs
THE ART GROUP
www.artgroup.com
The Art Group is a market leader in contemporary art publishing. The business collaborates with artists to create premium wall art that addresses the trends shaping today’s high-end interiors.
The Art Group’s collections are both designed and manufactured in the UK, for guaranteed quality – and promise to deliver statement pieces for those special finishing touches.
The Art Group present a selection of its products in Harrington Mills. For more information, call 0116 284 3640 or email sales@ artgroup.com.
BLUEBONE IMPORTS
www.bluebone.co.uk
“Bluebone’s summer 2021 collections can best be defined as ‘modern rustic’, says sales manager Elaine Anderson. “Reclaimed boatwood, rustic teak and driftwood are given a contemporary edge when displayed under glass. “Smooth surfaces in cement and polished minerals are paired with soft gold and brushed gunmetal frames. Natural rattan panels and raffia fringes create a summer vibe, and accessories are designed to work indoors and out.” Discover a selection of Bluebone’s fresh lines at The Motivation Suite, The Village Hotel, Brailsford Way, NG19 6DL.
ASHWOOD DESIGNS
www.ashwood-designs.co.uk
Alongside its current bestsellers, Ashwood Designs will present its more recent launches – Huxley (pictured), Malibu and Tailor – along with a selection of new fabrics.
“We may even have some surprises up our sleeve,” teases director, Stuart Youngs. “Please take the time to visit us at the Novotel Long Eaton – you won’t be disappointed!”
WESTBRIDGE FURNITURE
www.westbridgefurniture.com
Westbridge Furniture’s team are excited to have the opportunity to show its new ranges to customers face to face at Long Point. The manufacturer has launched three new Westbridge ranges, concentrating on sustainable manufacturing, comfort and value – as well as three sumptuous new Spirit models, which offer the glamour, scale and comfort expected from the Spirit brand. Find Westbridge in The Inspirational Suite, in The Village Hotel.
Tulip, from Westbridge’s Spirit collection
Kos
WIEMANN
www.wiemannuk.co.uk
Award-winning bedroom manufacturer Wiemann will unveil two stylish new ranges at Long Point.
Metz and Kos are chic, contemporary wardrobe and accessory collections, offering different looks but sharing the same trademark Wiemann versatility and quality.
Metz, which is available in a selection of colours and finishes, features glass and wood-effect combinations and bi-fold doors. The on-trend Kos, meanwhile, brings a modular blueprint to a trio of sliding doors, well suited to all colour options.
Further chances to view the Wiemann catalogue are: the Summer Furniture Show, Telford, from 1516th June; and by appointment at the company’s permanent showrooms in Harlow, Essex, and Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire.
Longpoint 24th - 27th May
Novotel Hotel Bostocks Lane Long Eaton Nottingham NG10 4EP
PRIDE OF PLACE
Since making the transition from Duresta to Collins & Hayes in 2017, the heritage upholstery brand’s sales & marketing director Jo Slaven has steered the business towards an increasingly assured market position – more recently negotiating a pandemic, and still having creativity to spare for this month’s Long Point show …
www.collinsandhayes.co.uk
What was your industry experience prior to joining Sofa Brands International (SBI), and what were your aspirations for Collins & Hayes? I have been involved in the furnishings sector for nearly 30 years. It is important to me that at this stage in my career I dedicate my energy and skill to the further development of a legacy brand – promoting quality and provenance, but ensuring it is relevant for today. Being a custodian of Collins & Hayes under the ownership of SBI has been an opportunity to develop the business and restore it to its rightful place in the market.
How has the brand evolved under your stewardship? Affinity with the product is vital, and I believe it needs to be evident when interacting with the customer. I genuinely love the Collins & Hayes brand, and I think that comes across to our retail partners. If the Collins & Hayes team value the brand, then they will too.
We believe in sustainable relationships, so have developed a mutually beneficial stockist policy, ensuring the brand remains revered and our retail partners feel supported. This, coupled with a beautiful, commercial collection, has helped us to re-establish our retail distribution, which continues to grow.
Jo Slaven
Can you describe the brand’s journey since the start of 2020? Has the pandemic changed how you operate? The Collins & Hayes story started in 1870, so 2020 was our 150th year – a reason for celebration. The year started extremely well, as we won The Furniture Awards with our Bailey & Banks models. It was a fabulous accolade, and testament to the preservation of our design credentials and brand values.
However, who knew what 2020 would bring? It was a very challenging year indeed for our industry and, of course, the entire global community. In business terms, we’ve had to be creative, resourceful and incredibly flexible – 2020 reminded us of the power of teamwork, and to only focus our energy on controlling the controllable. The pandemic has absolutely changed how we operate, and ways of working, we believe, will have changed forever.
Furniture News heard that you have conducted virtual tours and design consultations – what kind of interaction did you have with stockists? It is vital that we communicate with our consumers and provide access to the brand in a very personal way. We live and breathe this creative industry, but consumers don’t buy new furniture that often, so they need support with decision making.
We have a dedicated consumer relationship manager who ensures the consumers are supported and make an informed decision. This has been especially relevant whilst retail has been closed.
They can benefit from a 360° virtual tour of our showroom, a virtual consultation via Zoom, a phone consultation, or by appointment now the doors are open again. This service supports our stockists in turn, as we immerse our mutual consumer in the brand experience and enhance their buying journey.
During March, we used the virtual consultations to present new ranges to our stockists. This also gave them an understanding of the consumer experience, ensuring they will recommend it as a service going forward.
With consumer demand changing all the time, how is Collins & Hayes adapting its offer? We have invested in research to ensure we have a better understanding of our consumer. We will further develop our collections with those insights in mind, then tailor our marketing to capture every opportunity.
We will share our research findings and our exciting future marketing plans with our retail partners so they are assured we are driving informed consumers to them to purchase in the forthcoming months and years.
What was the greatest challenge you faced in the last year, and what have you learned from it? First and foremost, the greatest challenge was ensuring the safety of our team, their families and the wider community – whilst still being able to manufacture and fulfil our commitments.
We pride ourselves on our service levels, but the pandemic caused supply chain issues beyond anyone’s control. I think the biggest lessons were retaining a sense of perspective, and never taking anything for granted again.
Other than the home furnishing boom, do any particular trends in retail bode well for your brand? Collins & Hayes has excellent sustainability credentials, and when we redeveloped the proposition under SBI this was front of mind. This is now more relevant than ever, and we are well placed to engender the trust of the consumer and retailer with, amongst others, our lifetime frame guarantee,
Bailey
natural fibre fabrics with regenerated yarns and replaceable slip-cover brand USPs. Products made with the environment in mind are here to stay.
Buying locally and buying British are also incredibly important. This sentiment will grow further – and again, Collins & Hayes are well placed to support it.
Does Collins & Hayes have anything special lined up for Long Point? The Long Point dates have moved several times, so we will be delighted to finally have the opportunity to meet with our retail partners.
We have continued, during lockdown, to develop new products and introduce beautiful fabrics. Visitors to our fabulous showroom in Harrington Mill will experience our bestsellers, in addition to a new model, which has wide appeal and delivers the incredible comfort expected from Collins & Hayes. We have ensured this model has a sofabed option too, as we know that functionality is important to our consumer.
I would encourage any retailer considering a new supply partner who can convey brand provenance, deliver choice and an exceptional consumer experience in exchange for positive benefits and credible brand support, to visit Long Point to meet with our team
Jefferson Bailey
GO INTO ORBIT
As the adoption of CGI marketing gathers pace, industry specialist Orbital Vision invites Long Point’s visitors to discover exactly how its technology can drive sales …
www.orbital.vision
CGI by Orbital Vision
The topic of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and its potential to replace traditional photography has been heavily featured in recent issues of Furniture News – and with technology and skills evolving to a point where a consumer would find it impossible to notice the difference between the two, it’s a conversation that is being had by many retailers and suppliers only now emerging from lengthy periods of closure.
Some might argue that one’s products are only as good as their photographs – especially given the backdrop of an online shopping evolution.
And that is where Orbital Vision comes in. A CGI furniture and fabric specialist with over a decade of industry experience and a team with backgrounds in photography, design and interiors, Orbital has spearheaded the sector’s CGI efforts for the past three years. Being based opposite the famous Harrington Mills in Long Eaton – the perfect position within the Long Point show circuit – it is little wonder the agency has focused on furniture, says director, Rob Walker.
“With the disruption to the industry over the last year, it has become clear that more and more businesses are looking for a new way to present their products to customers,” he explains. “We are being approached daily by new businesses who have seen the imagery on our website.
CGI by Orbital Vision CGI by Orbital Vision
“But it seems that there are still many misconceptions about using CGI to sell products online. We are finding that lots of businesses may have approached CGI either recently or a few years ago, with another agency, and were disappointed with the results – giving up on the concept altogether.
“The other side we are hearing of is businesses who have never considered this way of selling, and have no idea how to get started.
“But CGI to replace traditional photography is a no-brainer! Cost- and time-effective marketing visuals to boost online sales, without leaving your office – not to mention that you can have more imagery than is ever possible with photography.”
Orbital is opening its doors during Long Point, and invites all visitors to learn more about the world of CGI and how it can transform their sales. From suppliers, to manufacturers, to retailers, CGI will soon be necessary to sell a product, states Orbital, and the more one knows, the more powerful their next steps.
“Book a one-hour slot by email (info@ orbital.vision) or phone (01332 552212), to have all your queries answered,” says Rob. “Having one-to-one slots means Orbital can advise on your specific strategy, and on a cost-effective approach bespoke to your journey, along with live demostrations.”
Orbital’s new cafe-style kitchen will also be open, providing hot and cold food and drinks throughout the show – alongside a pool table and comfortable private seating.
Find Orbital in The Exchange, Westend Mill, Leopold Street, Long Eaton NG10 4QD (opposite Harrington Mills)
LIVING ROOM BOOM
Having eagerly awaited the the anticipated reopening of furniture stores on 12th April, Sherborne Upholstery is confident that pent-up consumer demand will fuel another mini-boom period in the weeks ahead, based on the impressive level of sales achieved last autumn following the first lockdown …
www.sherborneupholstery.co.uk
Roma
Keswick
Like all upholstery companies, Sherborne faced unprecedented material shortages in the autumn, which caused major disruptions to its production plans – with the lack of foam in particular necessitating a full week’s factory closure.
More recently, the business has also encountered severe container delays which have potentially jeopardised the arrival of recliner actions – but says that, due to prudent forward planning, these issues have not affected delivery times in recent weeks.
Another difficulty has been the mounting cost of raw materials, with major increases in foam, hardwood, MDF and recliner actions in particular. “The cost of foam has increased five times in the space of only a few months, amounting to a total increase of approximately +30% – all relating to the rapidly escalating cost of the two main constituent chemicals,” explains a spokesperson. “The cost of recliner actions has also rocketed recently, with a near +35% overall increase due to huge cost hikes in the price of steel.”
In view of the anticipated surge in demand, Sherborne rapidly worked through its large order book prior to 12th April, to bring lead times down and ensure that customers will enjoy much quicker delivery times now shops have reopened.
Sherborne has also been busy developing new products and fabrics for introduction this month. These include, by popular demand, leather versions of the successful Roma, Keswick Classic and Albany ranges. In addition, a completely new recliner/suite range will be launched, bolstering the alreadyextensive choice on offer.
As well as the addition of three further ranges of attractive new chenille fabrics, anew generation of eco-friendly Aquaclean covers has been developed, and Sherborne has chosen an attractive cross-section of these to add to customers’ Aquaclean display carousels. In addition to their usual easy-clean properties, these are manufactured using a high percentage of recycled materials
THE SHOW MUST GO ON?
Tiger King, banana bread, home schooling, hand sanitiser … a product of lockdown as much as a glimpse of a possible future, virtual shows gained ground while the exhibition centre doors remained firmly shut. But do they deliver what B2B professionals want? And what might they look like once ‘normal’ service is resumed? Paul Farley investigates …
They may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but trade shows have always been an essential step in the sourcing journey – as well as an invaluable source of inspiration, information and networking opportunities.
Yet, from the moment in March 2020 in which personal contact was fearfully curtailed, what hope remained of bringing people together under one roof to peruse the latest ranges and renew commercial and personal bonds?
With the trade’s exhibition circuit in ongoing disarray, a new breed of show sprung into action, promising a wealth of engaging sourcing opportunities unavailable elsewhere, and striving to scratch the trading itch many were acutely feeling.
But did the virtual events deliver? In this feature, Furniture News hears from the people behind three of the newcomers – two physical event ‘pivots’ plus an original concept – and attempts to gauge the furniture industry’s feelings on digital sourcing opportunities as those lockdown restrictions recede …
AIS FURNITURE ONLINE EVENT
www.thefurniture-show.co.uk
Spokesperson: Julian Cox, director of furniture & home, Associated Independent Stores (AIS)
Give us a brief summary of your event The AIS Furniture Online Event was created to reconnect members and retailers with suppliers, enabling them to view and purchase products. Members were given exclusive access for a week before the event opened to the trade.
When and why did you get involved in the online event business? The physical AIS furniture and bed shows are important to our members and, whilst we’ve been unable to run trade shows during this unprecedented time, we wanted to support retailers, working with the supply base to deliver a solution.
We embarked on this venture with an open mind and the support of our valued suppliers. It was a long journey, and the team learned many lessons along the way, enabling us to adapt the platform as we moved through the process.
From exhibitors to content, interface and engagement, there’s a lot to consider – but which is most crucial? For us, the most crucial part of the event was to include content across a wide range of suppliers, offering options across a breadth of product categories. Our event was supported by key brands, helping to generate interest and purpose for buyers to visit the site.
Our site traffic was very positive, showing that retailers had made a conscious effort to visit. Whilst the event was not fully interactive, suppliers were greatly encouraged with the responses, which continue to deliver new account opportunities, enquiries and orders. Also, in the same way we would approach the layout of a physical show, it was essential that the site be easy to navigate.
Should online shows try to mirror physical events, or go their own way? You will never be able to emulate a physical show, and there’s no true substitute. However, you can deliver vital elements – reviewing product and understanding the items available in a range. The event has been a useful tool to create interest in newness, highlight new initiatives and reinforce bestsellers.
What do you do better than anyone in the virtual furniture show business? Fundamentally, we have a very loyal supply base, and without their continued support and input the event would not have been viable. Looking to the future, we can see the online event evolving to
Julian Cox
support our physical shows. Whilst we have a robust event foundation, we can see ways to evolve the site, providing a higher level of interaction with users, incorporating live chat and video calling.
Do you think physical exhibitions will ever be the same again – and what future do virtual shows have? We’re looking forward to getting back to physical shows – there’s nothing quite like them! Our industry thrives on faceto-face contact and the ability to interact with product. When it comes to furniture, it is so important to be able to touch and feel the product. The sit of a sofa, the feel of a mattress, being able to see and touch the finish on a cabinet, enabling you to appreciate the product quality, and buy more effectively.
That said, we recognise the opportunity to run an online element to support physical shows, and will be looking to support this initiative in the future
THE ONLINE FURNITURE SHOW
www.onlinefurnitureshow.co.uk
Spokesperson: Mike Ogle, marketing & design lead and director (and owner of Chord Design).
Give us a brief summary of your event The Online Furniture Show is the immersive online solution for the furniture trade, by the furniture trade, helping all areas of furniture and interiors showcase products to just under 2000 retailers and growing. Our spring show ran from 26-30th April.
When and why did you get involved in the online event business? The idea of an online show was brought to my attention by my fellow directors at The Online Furniture Show. In the mid-part of 2020, the possibilities for shows and field sales were lowering and delaying every day. With this everextending lockdown causing more shows to cancel and replan, David (one of our directors) began speaking with Peter (another director) about how it would be possible to create an online show platform that was as close to the real thing as possible, to help get furniture moving again.
I came on board shortly after that initial discussion between David and Peter, with Peter’s recommendation of my knowledge of front-end web design and marketing.
As well as technical knowledge, I also work with both suppliers and retailers in the furniture trade to help deliver online and physical print marketing. My ‘ear to the ground’ approach helped us to gauge opinion on both sides of the trade and to get a better understanding of what we should add into the show to further increase the engagement from retailers. From exhibitors to content, interface and engagement, there’s a lot to consider – but which is most crucial? The most important part of our show was the reporting functionality that enabled our exhibitors to see in-depth information about their presence there.
At the end of each day of the show, each exhibitor receives a report on who had viewed their stand, what ranges they’d viewed, and other information. Our exhibitors then distribute these to their sales teams, who have an accurate and updated call list each day. This concept helped set us apart from physical shows, and further increased the engagement of exhibitors.
Should online shows try to mirror physical events, or go their own way? During lockdown, the purpose of our show was to fill the void created during the Covid crisis. Our aim was to create a platform that emulated as much as possible the physical shows – even going as far as to copy terminology like ‘halls’ and ‘stands’ to create a likeness retailers and exhibitors knew.
In the longer term, I think without doubt that online shows that persevere and continue post-2021 will need to adapt and change their offering to flourish when we eventually return to normality. To do that means to offer something the physical shows cannot – be it instant updates, international shows with less floorspace, or something else entirely.
What do you do better than anyone in the virtual furniture show business? Interactivity was our goal from day one, with key features like live chat and live visitor reporting being the main elements we knew would make our show the one to be at.
Mike Ogle
The different ways of putting together an online show have left the new category a bit of an unknown to both suppliers and retailers. We’ve seen platforms released that are almost a noticeboard with not a lot of detail or attractive content to keep visitors interested. We’re making improvements to our platform to boost our initial success, with features such as video chat and further visitor connectivity to improve the ‘show’ feel of our site.
Do you think physical exhibitions will ever be the same again – and what future do virtual shows have? I think we will easily fall back into old habits not long after the last restriction is lifted. However, I would like to think people will begin to question why they do things the way they do them a lot more in the future. Those who are travelling from afar to visit a show in the Midlands or London, not really knowing what they’re going to find when they complete their day of travel, might just start to believe there is a better way to what they’ve always known.
The future of virtual shows varies depending on who you ask, of course. For us, it’s moving more towards data and stock systems that can complement both physical shows as well as being of everyday use for retailers and exhibitors. The idea of being able to virtually browse a show stand before going and seeing it in person means people can make more informed decisions before they set foot in the trade halls.
Our future lies in DataHouse, our new data and product management system that powered our spring show. We’re excited to be bringing it to some physical shows this summer, with an aim of making it the universal home of furniture product data and pricing for the UK – as well as further afield, too
MIFF FURNIVERSE
www.2021.miff.com.my/highlights/mifffurniverse/
Spokesperson: Karen Goi, general manager, Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF), Informa Markets
Give us a brief summary of your event The second edition of MIFF Furniverse took place in March as an online sourcing alternative to our physical show for global furniture buyers. The next edition will take place from 1st-4th September this year, in tandem with our live event.
When and why did you get involved in the online event business? Our business digitisation journey started early – before the Covid-19 era – when we diversified our marketing focus into the online community.
The development of the global pandemic has affected human life – it changed the way we live, the way we work and the way we do business. In 2020, MIFF had been postponed twice, until September 2021, due to international travel restrictions and other business uncertainties. In order to stay connected with the global furniture markets and help our exhibitors to continue doing business with international buyers, our team have been responsive and adapted to the change by rolling out several digital solutions for MIFF’s community.
Our first online offering was the launch of MIFF Digital Showroom in April 2020, enabling MIFF’s exhibitors to upload their details to an online portal through which buyers could make enquiries. At the same time, we organised a MIFF webinar series. To date, we have organised six webinar sessions.
We then helped our exhibitors and visitors onboarding to digitisation with another big step forward – MIFF Furniverse, the MIFF online exhibition, a virtual event platform for a real-time communication between buyers and sellers, where both parties log on to the platform and stay online during the live event period. After browsing the product photos, brochures and videos uploaded by exhibitors to the online platform, buyers can connect with exhibitors immediately via live chat or video call. MIFF Furniverse provides exhibitors and visitors an online, real-time trade experience.
From exhibitors to content, interface and engagement, there’s a lot to consider – but which is most crucial? For virtual events, there is no one-sizefits-all model. We learned from our experiences that content and data are key to success. For our industry, the main content is the furniture suppliers’ offering – the products/designs available for buyer sourcing, great images or videos with in-depth information are an important part of the sourcing experience. On the other hand, a simple and straightforward platform with easy-to-use features is equally important, to achieve a better user experience.
Should online shows try to mirror physical events, or go their own way? Online shows are not able to mirror physical events. It is a totally different experience. At a physical event, you will be able to meet face to face and carry out activities together with someone in a common space, through five senses – whereas, at an online platform, both are connected via internet from different locations (even timezones) in isolation. What works well at a physical event might not be suitable in the virtual environment.
There will be a new set of user behaviours among participants, however – and it is important to understand these behaviours and manage expectations in order to avoid disappointment.
What do you do better than anyone in the virtual furniture show business? So far, we have organised two editions of
THERE WILL BE A NEW SET OF BEHAVIOURS AMONG PARTICIPANTS, AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THESE AND MANAGE EXPECTATIONS
Karen Goi
MIFF Furniverse, and the result is getting better each time – especially from the buyers’ side. Although our participants still prefer face-to-face meetings due to the nature of this industry, where touching and feeling the products is so important, exhibitors and buyers are grateful that we have taken the initiative to provide an alternative to fulfil their sourcing and selling needs – especially when the physical show has been halted for two years.
There are no geographical boundaries around the virtual environment – MIFF Furniverse helps us expand our reach beyond our traditional community. We have received over 30% of new buyers logged on to our virtual platform to source from our exhibitors. We have also attracted new exhibitors outside of Malaysia who have not participated in MIFF’s physical show before – such as Ashley Furniture from the US and Sofa Source from Ireland, both of whom took part in our latest virtual exhibition.
Do you think physical exhibitions will ever be the same again – and what future do virtual shows have? We will complement MIFF’s physical exhibition by adding digital components to the show, and the virtual show will be part of the offering – both exhibitors and buyers will be able to participate in MIFF online and off. Besides meeting buyers in person on the show floor, exhibitors can also get in touch with those buyers who are not able to attend in person via our online platform during the physical show period. Vice versa, international companies can also exhibit at MIFF virtually, to offer their products to our wide range of buyers on our online platform.
To date, MIFF has built its online community throughout the entire digitisation journey
ARE VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS
HERE TO STAY?
Adam Hankinson (Furniture Sales Solutions): Yes, in some ways for definite – but I think people can’t wait to get together face to face, catch up with old friends and do business in person. You can’t beat that.
Andy Stockwell (Gardiner Haskins): They could be as part of a supplier’s wider strategy. Trade shows in ‘normal’ times are few and far between, and virtual exhibitions could, in theory, run 24 hours a day. That said, furniture is a tactile product and needs to be tried before being bought – something that can’t be done over the internet. Having visited one of these events, as much as the organisers should be applauded for putting something in place, it was a poor substitute for an actual physical trade show. Essentially there was little difference between this and visiting individual supplier websites. I’m sure they will develop and improve over time.
Royce Clark (Grampian Furnishers): It’s hard to say as I haven’t attended any yet, but as a stop-gap I think it’s better than nothing – but I can’t see these being a replacement for actual exhibitions in the long term. Combined with showvans and at-home shows, I think they will help as part of an overall sales strategy.
INTO THE DETAILS
Lee Ness (Global Upholstery Solutions): I doubt it. I think it will be a hybrid in future, but there’s nothing like wandering round looking at things in the flesh (so to speak).
Anne Davies (Room to Grow): Virtual exhibitions have been a great compromise during lockdown and have provided a stand-in at a time when we can’t have the live shows. But there is just something you can’t beat about the buzz and interaction of a real exhibition! I think that’s definitely not an element that can be recreated online.
Mike & Karen Rowley (Core Products): Absolutely.
Dids Macdonald OBE (ACID): Yes, I think so, but I think they will be an additional marketing tool. Nothing can replace seeing new designs, meeting customers, networking and the spontaneity that visiting exhibitions brings. If one can look at Covid-19 in any positive way, it reinforces and reminds us of the value and importance of human contact and interaction.
Gavin Boden (Rhenus Home Delivery (UK)): Even during times like this, they don’t really hit the mark. No atmosphere, personality or ‘vibe’. It doesn’t matter how hard the organisers try, it will never hit the mark.
Steve Adams (Mattress Online): Unlikely – certainly not in their current form (of those I visited). I was hoping for more of a vlog-style video chat format and product demonstrations. What I found was a staid and traditional online brochure that felt dated. I won’t be rushing back to virtually attend.
Henrik Pontoppidan (S2U Design Containers): Virtual exhibitions are a great idea, but I doubt they will be replacing conventional ones, since they can’t deliver on two important features: you can’t get aquainted with the products in the flesh; and, perhaps more importantly, meet people face to face. Here to stay? Probably, but only as ‘an extra string to the bow’.
Mike Murray (Land of Beds): Yes, I’m sure that these will develop and complement the traditional face-toface events. They provide advantages in travel and hotel costs, and allow you to spend more time digging into the details with your spreadsheets and report beside you.
Emma Leeke (Leekes Retail): Yes.
Peter Harding (Fairway Furniture): I expect we will see these continue, being used by suppliers for a more ‘iterative’ product portfolio refreshment programme, saving travel for reps and agents and maximising the freshness of in-store displays between major shows.
Adam Ashborn (Reborn Marketing & Design): I believe there is a time and place for virtual shows, and, with the pandemic going on, it’s the right time now. However, in the long term, I don’t see these events overtaking actual physical shows. Virtual events have allowed businesses to continue to promote new and existing products lines online, but, due to the nature of the furnishing industry and the target demographic, it’s a fix for now yet I don’t expect them to be here for the long term. People are itching to get outside, socialise and see things in person again, rather than from behind a screen.
Rob Scarlett (Scarlett Design): I hope not. I suspect it’ll follow a bricks-andclicks model. Online has its place and hopefully it’ll encourage businesses to improve the online experience, but seeing products in the flesh is also super-important
