Exhibition Report December 2009
Salon International, 17-19 October 2009
Martyn Wady from The Wady Company provides a review of the UK’s largest hairdressing event, Salon International at the Excel Convention Centre, London…
Organisers: Reed International
With the global economic downturn and the UK deep in recession, how Salon International would perform in 2009 was a question that dominated the industry throughout the year. Due to the uncertain economic climate and the major annual expense of exhibiting, it soon became apparent that many companies, large and small, had decided not to take part in this year’s event. This even led to rumours that Salon Int. would follow Hair & Beauty Frankfurt, MCB Paris and other international hairdressing trade fairs, and not hold the exhibition in 2009. Thankfully, this turned out not to be the case.
To their credit, Salon Int. didn’t appear to let what must have been trying times influence their pre-Salon preparations. The marketing and promotions in both HJ and on HJi continued to focus on the broad appeal and content of the event – a lack of which was most likely a major factor in other shows being cancelled. This focus helped ensure that at a time of savings and cutbacks, visitor numbers seemed good. While there were some grumbles that Saturday was quieter than normal, Sunday and Monday had their usual Salon buzz.
The show itself was considerably smaller this year and, in comparison with previous Salon Internationals, disappointing. The lack of many major brands was noticeable, as was the proportionally large number of small, unknown exhibitors with only tentative links to the hair industry. By far the biggest noticeable difference was the complete lack of salon furniture. Over the last decade or so, Salon Int. had built a reputation for its extensive display of salon furniture. The investment in their stands by furniture
manufacturers and suppliers had made Salon Int. the best exhibition of salon furniture in Europe outside Cosmoprof. For salon owners considering opening or revamping their salons, a visit to the show was considered crucial and any that attended this year would have been sorely disappointed.
Regardless of this, in my view Salon Int. 2009 was a success. The event focused heavily on its live content, and while visitors may have felt the number and quality of stands was disappointing, they would definitely have left feeling inspired and motivated. And with more time to explore the business-focused elements, salon owners probably utilised these valuable areas of the exhibition more than usual. There were also a number of stands that bucked the ‘cutback’ trend, noticeably Tigi, Tony&Guy, Corioliss and Farouk who all invested heavily in their stands.
The layout of the exhibition could perhaps have been better. The reduced number and size of exhibitors meant that some areas of the halls were sectioned off as unused. The central area, however, still felt crushed while the extremities felt expansive and empty. True, the central area had that familiar ‘Salon crush’ feel (and may be that was deliberate), but as they had the space, the layout could have been better and allowed greater ease of movement.
While visitors to Salon Int. were, I believe, generally satisfied this year it is important to realise that unless the event begins to re-grow and entice back many of the exhibitors who chose to abstain this year, numbers will soon dwindle. 2009 has been a good opportunity for everyone to take a good look at exhibitions and the result is likely to be that organisers, exhibitors and visitors will be forced to think more clearly about events, like Salon Int. and their importance, cost and value.
It’s in everyone’s interest that we have an event that’s a showcase for the entire British hairdressing industry, and it’s hard to think of anything that has done this anywhere nearly as well as Salon Int. Salon is, however, an expensive event on all levels – to stage, to exhibit and to visit, and as the economic recovery is sure to be slow and tentative, it is crucial that 2010 and future Salon Internationals are seen to have a real value to all concerned.
(Martyn Wady, The Wady Company)
Salon International, 17-19 October 2009
Nicola Lazenby, Senior Marketing Manager from Salon Exhibitions, gives a post-Salon International review on how the exhibition went, from an organiser’s point of view…
This year’s Salon International continued to prove itself as the most inspirational and influential event in hairdressing, where professionals from the world over came to celebrate everything that’s great about British hairdressing.
With over 46,000 visitors in attendance, there was a great atmosphere throughout the event, with large crowds gathering at the numerous free live stages situated within The Hair Show to soak up every last ounce of creativity on offer. These immensely popular shows were offered by a wide range of top name exhibitors including Alan D, BaByliss Pro, Corioliss, Denman, Farouk, Fellowship for British Hairdressing, Habia, Hair Tools, Keune, Rusk, TIGI, Toni&Guy and Wahl. Live demos and product presentations were also invaluable, and allowed visitors to see products at work in real time, as well as try them for themselves. As always, retail stands were a popular draw, with brisk business being done throughout the hall by exhibitors both big and small, with many selling more than in 2008. Another item of note were the stands themselves, with many exhibitors pulling out all the stops when it came to their presence at the show with their fantastic stand design, build and décor, which really contributed to the great aesthetic of the show. All in all, with over 200 stands, The Hair Show was a hive of activity and had something of interest for everyone in attendance.
Our Salon Live and Seminar sessions continued to prove themselves invaluable, with many shows completely sold out. Unsurprising really, with the amount of creativity and talent on display from some of the world’s greatest hairdressers and their teams, including Patrick Cameron, Tim Hartley (presented by Davines), Mahogany, Sassoon Academy (presented by Sassoon Professional) and Toni&Guy. What’s more, we continued to support the hairdressers of tomorrow with special student shows on the Monday – Sassoon Academy presents Future Creatives and TIGI presents Inspirational Youth – which were also well received.
Not so creative, but equally important, our Business Extra sessions (sponsored by Salon Genius), were on hand for the commercially astute salon owners and managers in attendance. With the likes of Jon MacLeod, Sean Hanna, Nergish Wadia-Austin and Julie Eldrett on hand to offer sound advice and top business tips, these timely sessions were well attended.
Now in its second year, our Salon Owner registration, complete with exclusive lounge, continued to make an impact at the show with salon owners and managers alike, whilst the launch of our Distributor Club also made a successful start. We will continue developing these popular initiatives as we look toward next year’s event.
For most, October 2010 seems a long way away, but, as exhibition organisers, we are already focussed and working hard towards delivering yet another successful Salon International, where we aim to bring exciting new elements to the event which will sit effortlessly alongside the key components which already make up the heart of the show. No doubt over the coming months we will keep in touch with exhibitors and visitors alike as we make our way to ExCeL London from 16th – 18th October 2010.
(Nicola Lazenby, Salon International)
Cosmoprof Asia, Hong Kong, China, 11 - 13 November 2009
David Phillips, Denman International, reports on his first visit to the Cosmoprof Asia exhibition in Hong Kong, China…
The city of Hong Kong is one of the most popular travel destinations in Asia. Located on the south coast of the People Republic of China, Hong Kong is divided into four main areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories and Outlying Islands. The population is approximately 6.9 million, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Hong Kong is also home to a remarkable range of businesses. This is due, in part, to the fact that English is one of its two official national languages and is widely used in dealings with the government and the legal system. Another reason is that Hong Kong taxes are among the lowest across the globe.
Cosmoprof Asia was hosted at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The centre is divided up into several halls spread across 3 floors with all areas easily accessible by lifts and escalators. It is located at the business hub of Hong Kong – the bustling Wanchai district on Hong Kong Island and overlooks the famed Victoria Harbour. The centre is also conveniently linked by walkways to adjacent hotels and commercial buildings. Also nearby are the MTR - Hong Kong's modern subway system, the airport bus, city buses and ferries, banking, the main post office, and all the shopping and entertainment that Hong Kong is famous for.
Official figures show that the exhibition attracted 1,412 exhibitors – an increase of 3.5%, while visitor numbers reached over 41,000, boosted by an 8% increase in international visitors, giving an overall gain of 4% over 2008 figures. I found our hall to have a steady flow of visitors on the 11th and 12th but the 13th (Friday) is when it really got busy with many people requesting product samples and asking about the ranges we had on display. After speaking with many of the exhibitors, it was generally thought that the show was not as busy as expected, but still successful in attracting a lot of attention to their stands. Some of the exhibitors I spoke to said they would also be attending the next Cosmoprof in Bologna, Italy.
We were located in Hall 5C, which housed all of the exhibitors of hair products, equipment and salon furnishing. Our stand was centrally located in the hall. Adjacent halls had professional beauty salon equipment, well-being products and equipment. I found that many of the exhibitor stands located around the outer edges of our hall were the most impressive. The hall was definitely filled to capacity and had a very good floor plan layout. Also attending the show were a select few of the major companies including BaBylissPro, Termix and Wahl.
Despite most of our hall consisting of companies selling hair straighteners, hair dryers and various comb and brush ranges, there were some nice surprises, particularly the bamboo based combs and brushes. These seemed to crop up quite often in a variety of different styles and quality.
Having been my first Cosmoprof (and also my first time in Hong Kong), overall I was very impressed with both the attendance of the show and the venue it was located in.
(David Phillips, Denman International)
