Sicam number six

08/07/2014

Everything ready for Sicam 2014, an exhibition that feels no crisis…

From 14 to 17 October, for the second time − if we remember well − from Tuesday to Friday. Almost 500 exhibitors and a few dozen square meters more than in the past edition, approximately 13 thousand net.

Halls 2 to 8 are sold out, late arrivals will be placed in 1 and 9, together with restaurant and services. So, once again, the Pordenone fairgrounds are full and another successful event is announced. Yes, another good result for Sicam. It’s the only exhibition that has shown no signs of decadence and that is proving to have all the trumps to continue its dazzling career. The Giobbi family, with “patron” Carlo and his children Carolina and Michele – who have been supporting him for a few years now, without forgetting a small circle of excellent collaborators…) – has the merit for this success. Really, who thought they would get rid of Zow Italia, take its place, face a dramatic economic season, make Sasmil inconspicuous, turn Pordenone into an exhibition capital, and become the alter ego of a big show like Interzum? We don’t want to praise the capacity of organizers and we know that Carlo Giobbi would object to some of our statements, but as the only “family-run exhibition” in the global scenario, this could be the topic of a talk-show on TV…

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT…

We may be wrong, but to understand Sicam and its success, it is essential to look at its history and management and to the peculiarities of the organizing company. Industry people know very well, exhibitors even better. But in the end, as usual, it all boils down to figures. We have already mentioned exhibitors: we are close to 500 and there are still applications arriving a few weeks before the official opening, with a share of foreign exhibitors above 25 percent. These figures are basically in line with past editions, a valuable consistency if you consider what has happened to other events in recent years. The trend is stable also for square meters, and the same applies to expected visitors: every year, Sicam is between 15 and 16 thousand. The impressive figure is the share of visitors from abroad; frankly speaking − we have probably written that for twenty times − very few would have bet on this. We wouldn’t have. In 2013, as much as 35 percent of 16 thousand visitors came to Pordenone from 94 countries!

CARLO GIOBBI

“And we have a similar result also in 2014.Online preregistrations show a clear trend:we expect operators from all over the world, delegations from North Africa, South Africa, Ukraine, Brazil, Vietnam…”, Carlo Giobbi says. “We work hard to promote our event in many industry exhibitions around the world.And we should not forget that, although the furniture district has suffered a lot in recent times, Pordenone is still one of the capitals of furniture, a territory where many component manufacturers and subcontractors, not only Italians, have subsidiaries, production sites, warehouses and showrooms.So, in a way, the play at home.
Not only:since we started, many things have changed for better.The relationship between Sicam and the town has improved, Venice is now Italy’s third largest airport by traffic, with many destinations all over the world.Also the fairgrounds have improved and the new highway has streamlined the visitor flows to Sicam”.

You and Interzum are virtually the dominators in this field, a duopoly in the smaller and smaller world of exhibitions for furniture supplies…

“I admit it’s a pleasure to hear that”, Giobbi says with a smile. “But let me tell you that we must not be too proud, we should keep a focus on our goal, carry on our ideas with a humble attitude, keeping in mind that our success depends on exhibitors and visitors.As long as we keep this in mind and we do all we can to support this approach, we will have a matching offer for the market and respond to the needs of qualified demand.We are a concrete exhibition, a service event, a tool for an industry.Interzum is from another planet, “big Interzum” is the reference exhibition worldwide, where big groups and small-medium business offer their best presentation.It’s no longer just about showing products, it’s about presenting yourself and your way of being an enterprise”.

Mister Giobbi, you might remember we put this question also during the first event in 2013. What do you see in Sicam’s future? Are you planning any innovation, a richer concept, maybe?

“Things are going fine, so far.We are not considering any new option or change.You see, an exhibition is a meeting place for demand and offer, for those who want to sell and those who need to buy, for suppliers and their customers and prospects.You can add anything you like, but that’s the key ingredient.You can do more and better, but you cannot change that.

In a world where all contacts are easy, fast, but often superficial, where the web drives behavioral habits and communications among people, there is still a strong need to talk face to face.New, practical, smart, useful tools will never replace the desire, the need of people to touch, to lay hands on things… an exhibition is a container where you can do that, easily, directly, effectively.Finding someone who has something to say and someone who is willing to listen, and bringing them in the same place at the same time, that’s all they ask of us, that’s where we have to show our skills.

And in few days we are going to see whether we have been good enough to repeat our little magic…”.