Returning to Paris three years after what was previously the biggest event to date, this show had a lot to live up to, but the draw of one of Europe’s finest cities, and the fact that the European industry is concentrated around this region, meant the show was always tipped to be quite the success.
“This show has been absolutely fantastic, quite simply the best we have ever had,” said Cathy Laporte, group marketing manager at Reed Exhibitions, and one of the main drivers behind the development and expansion of this show in recent years.
Speaking to Laporte on the afternoon of the third and final day of the event, she was able to confirm that the show had already surpassed all previous records to become the biggest on record.
Record number of visitors
“At 1pm today we had already recorded 9,200 unique visitors through the doors, which is likely to mean that the final figure will include at least several hundred additional visitors who came for the final afternoon,” she said.
“Going on these figures this means that attendance is already up 28 per cent on last year’s event in Barcelona, and up by 18 per cent on when the event was last held in Paris in 2010, which was when the the previous record for attendance was set.”
This year the event’s fragrance zone created a particular buzz, and Laporte reported that the half day conference programme that was built around it was packed out for every presentation.
“Likewise, the testing and regulation zone has also developed significantly, with more and more companies involved in this area of the business wanting to be associated with the zone by exhibiting,” she added.
in-cosmetics 2014 will be in Hamburg
The event organiser now has its sights set on next year’s event, which will take place in Hamburg, 1 – 3 April, and will help to serve the significant number of cosmetics players that are also based around this region.
“We hold the show in Germany every three years to reflect the fact this is a very important market for the European and global cosmetics industry,” said Laporte.
“Not only is it a very attractive city, but it is also very convenient, with the airport situated just 15 minutes from the exhibition centre, while both Beiersdorf and Unilever also have their headquarters there.”