Salone del Mobile 2022: the brands voices

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Ph. Delfino Sisto Legnani, dsl studio

The first major face-to-face event after the years of pandemic has come to an end. A profitable experience for many of the companies taking part. Here is a sampler of their reactions, followed by the unpublished report by Delfino Sisto Legnani from the fair

Salone del Mobile.Milano 2022: the exhibiting companies present make a first assessment of their experience at the fair. Common to all was the desire to meet again and engage in person at a great international event. There was also a sense of satisfaction for the attendance, despite the substantial absences – in terms of numbers – of China and countries in the Russian sphere. For many exhibitors the turnout was well above expectations in both quantity and quality. A result that is giving companies a new charge of energy: to continue to forge ahead while complying with the quality canons of the sector, but in a world that is profoundly changed. We have brought together some impressions from leading figures at the Salone 2022.

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Roberto Monti, CEO of Arper: “This edition of the Salone del Mobile has certainly shown how much manufacturers, designers and architects wanted to get together again at this international event, as shown by the numbers of exhibitors and visitors. I believe that this result also enables us to reflect on the future and the centrality of the event. The Salone has shown itself to be a cultural landmark, where not only the trade fair and the city of Milan meet, but design welcomes and encompasses many other sectors that feel the urge to express their creativity during the Salone, in a reciprocal fusion of stimuli and ideas.”

Christian Dal Bo, CEO of Arrital: “We’re really excited to have got together again at the Salone Del Mobile after the break in recent years. It was an event capable of being global, inclusive, and attracting a public from around the world. We’re returning home brimming with optimism and really happy with the turnout we had at our stand. We had first-hand experience of the great enthusiasm on the part of visitors towards the brand movie The Dream Factory and our new products on display. The Salone has confirmed it is a place to meet, exchange ideas and do business.”

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Alberto Scavolini, CEO of Ernestomeda: “Despite the catious expectations, we have seen an unexpected success, with an influx of visitors similar to those of the last editions of EuroCucina: during the days of the exhibition, we have estimated over 30k attendees at our stand. Furthermore, the professionals that visited our show floor were of the highest level, arriving equally from both Italy and the rest of the world, who have shown great enthusiasm for the research of new brands and new challenges to embark on. We have also received a lot of positive praise for the stand design and “Sign”, the new product by Giuseppe Bavuso, our art director: we can consider ourselves very satisfied, then. After two years of pandemic, this edition of the Salone del Mobile was, by all means, a great reboot for the industry; we wish it to be nothing but the beginning of a stimulating and profitable recovery for all the production areas”.

Paolo Fantoni, President of Fantoni: “It was an exciting Salone, full of vitality, visitors thirsty for novelties and rediscovered physical contact. Dynamism, energy, exuberance: these are the terms that best describe the mood of the exhibition. We truly hope for it to be the new trend of our industry”.

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Alejandra Gandía-Blasco, Director of Design & Marketing of Gandia Blasco Group: “We’re truly happy to have taken part in the Salone again, and what’s more on its 60th anniversary, after the years lost to the pandemic. It also gave us the chance to launch our partnership with Kengo Kuma, who designed our stand and a handmade collection. For us it was a very special moment. We were also very proud to be able to meet people face to face and make contact, seeing the reactions and reliving this exciting time of the year in person. We had good vibes at this Salone del Mobile 2022.”

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Safak Fila, Commercial Leader of Ideal Standard Italia: “In a profoundly changed world full of issues needing to be dealt with, after more than three years the Salone del Mobile is back. For Ideal Standard it was our first experience at the fair and certainly exceeded all expectations. We achieved important results. We focused on design quality and innovation, attuned to the changes taking place, giving rise to a strong exhibition and communication project that was highly appreciated by the market. This shows the excellent state of health and the high value content of the company. We invested in quality and teamwork and revealed our strong urge to create innovation and tell the story of Ideal Standard and its products for a long time to come.”

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Carola Bestetti, CEO of Living Divani: “A quick appraisal tells us the Salone del Mobile 2022 exceeded our expectations. We saw a turnout of visitors that astonished us by its quantity and quality. Despite the absence of a part of the world, such as China, which traditionally moves large numbers, we recorded strong attendance at our stand, many of the visitors coming from India, for example. And as for our opposite numbers, those we met were all extremely interested, focused, not just curious. We will soon be seeing the results of these meetings in the trend of orders. From the point of view of the products, the response to our proposals was excellent and in general I had the impression that the companies brought great commitment and quality to the event.”

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Roberto Minotti, co-CEO of Minotti: “We again experienced the positive and vibrant energy of the Salone del Mobile. For us it was an excellent event though, regrettably, our dealers from China were unable to attend. The overall flow of visitors was smaller, but it gave us the opportunity to meet all our customers coming from around the world, confirming the markedly international make-up of the fair. We’ve always seen the Salone del Mobile as an unmissable event and we invest in it and focus closely on it, in terms of both presentation through really strong architecture and new and important collections. We continue to have confidence in this event and we trust that the organization, dynamism and strategic planning of the Salone, supported by the institutions, will continue to evolve and parallel the growth of companies, strongly supporting our Italian design sector so greatly coveted by the whole world.”

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Fabiana Scavolini, CEO of Scavolini: “We’ve invested in and worked very hard for this Salone del Mobile, presenting a lot of new collections, developed in these last years of absence, and we’re truly satisfied with the obtained feedback. The main goal was to come back to exhibit our products at the fairground, meet the clients, welcome potential new ones and finally shake their hand. Even the creative concept of our stands – real and proper architectures designed by Fabio Novembre – was built exactly to highlight the will of the company to welcome guests in an accessible and inclusive place.

9_salone-del-mobile-2022-delfino-sisto-legnani-dsl-studio — Ph. Delfino Sisto Legnani, dsl studio

Despite the loss of professionals from China and the Russian and Ukrainian markets, the turnout of visitors at our stand was always relevant. There was a high presence of Italians, Europeans and Americans, but also of operators from the Gulf countries, Korea, India and Brazil. Apart from the figures, I’ve perceived noticeable enthusiasm from all the stakeholders in the industry. The Salone del Mobile has confirmed itself, once again, as the most important international showcase for furniture design, in line with our development strategy that we have been carrying forward, constantly, for quite some time now, to both strengthen the presence of the brand in already consolidated markets and to acquire market shares with strong potential.”

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Cristiano Crosetta, CEO of Tubes: “For Tubes the final balance of this edition of the Salone del Mobile is positive. Although the world has changed in the last two years, and communications with everything else, we think that the physical experience of the Salone remains an unmissable event for business people in our sector. The enthusiasm and energy of being able to meet agents, customers and professionals was palpable from the first day of the event. As far as we are concerned, we are satisfied with the visitors to our stand, especially in qualitative terms. We also noticed a particular turnout from abroad that we hardly expected. So we can say that we are very happy.”

Andrea Turri, CEO of Turri: “This year was decisive for us: we were celebrating our 60 years of participation in the Salone! Right from the first edition, we’ve tried to celebrate this event through the passion that distinguishes us and with new partnerships with famous design brands. We were very pleased with the turnout far exceeding our expectations. The desire to be present and the curiosity of the visitors who returned to see and touch our products were really palpable and accompanied us throughout the week with an enthusiasm and desire to create and rekindle relationships. We were aware that the event would be influenced by the absence of China and the crisis in the Russian-speaking countries, but, all in all, the result was very good. This was also thanks to the presence of international buyers.”

11_salone-del-mobile-2022-delfino-sisto-legnani-dsl-studio — Ph. Delfino Sisto Legnani, dsl studio

Giuliano Mosconi, president of Zanotta: “Despite the aftermath of the pandemic, the war and a complicated economic scenario, the Salone came back eager to discover the novelties and the ways companies, designers and commercial operators are thinking about the future of the home. We certainly felt – and I believe so did everyone else – the urge to bring innovation within a traditional format and this has certainly given new energy to the sector. The attendance was good at the stands and in Milan, comparable to the best years, but with a desire for new relationships and closeness, which look very promising for the activities planned for the future.”