Partnerships are fantastic opportunities to support sectoral developments and open up to the world. They require us to always be up to date and innovative. Our profession, which is constantly being renewed, is extremely exciting!

Laurent Noël,

Director of the “Network” division Comexposium

Establish new partnerships to expand our expertise

What milestones have you celebrated, and what do they mean for your organization?

We celebrated several historic anniversaries: 120 years for the Foire de Paris, 60 years for SIAL, and 40 years for Milipol. These milestones perfectly illustrate that our events are an integral part of everyone’s lives. They demonstrate our ability to create meeting and exchange platforms that endure and continue to meet the needs of businesses and professionals, decade after decade.

Why are trade fairs still a strategic tool for companies, despite changes in professional mobility and regional specificities?

« The trade fair remains, even today, the most effective way for a company to develop its business or its network. In a few hours or a few days, a company can meet as many people as possible that it would have neither the time nor the means to approach without this event. However, we observe that professional mobility is evolving and that regional specificities are accentuated, whether on economic, demographic or regulatory levels. These developments encourage us to offer our brands in different regions of the world, to be as close as possible to the concerns of each community and their location.»

How do you adapt your events to local realities while maintaining your internationally recognized know-how?

«We don’t just transpose a brand and know-how from one region to another. We adapt our products according to local needs. For example, during the deployment of Milipol, a state security exhibition, in India, we met with local law enforcement representatives to understand their specific needs.

This allowed us to evolve the typology of exhibitors and the contents of the show accordingly. This capacity for adaptation and agility, combined with recognized know-how, is a major asset for establishing new partnerships with federations, unions, and professional associations.

For the launch of Retail’s Big Show in Singapore, we have fully adapted the exhibitor offering to the specificity of commerce and distribution in Asia, relying on our local teams, already in charge within the Events Group regional dedicated to marketing professionals.

We are engaged in a virtuous co-construction process with all our stakeholders. We bring to the sectors or federations our operational expertise as event organizers, pooled talents, knowledge of the parks and host cities, and our global network.

In return, they provide us with their knowledge of their industry and potential synergies with other Group brands. Exhibitors, for their part, benefit from new business perspectives, and professional visitors discover new solutions. In the end, everyone gains in impact and quality of experience.»