Carole Sloan — Furniture Today,
Salon du Meuble de Paris better than expected

PARIS — Although beset by a date change that brought the show closer to the New Year, as well as a declining exhibitor base and new competition, the Salon du Meuble de Paris scored better results for exhibitors than anticipated.

The new dates for the Paris show, Jan. 5-9, were considered one of the reasons for the decline in exhibitors from 770 in 2012 to 654 this year.

Also affecting the Salon is the new event called Planete Meuble Paris, a show dedicated to furniture organized by backers of the Maison & Objet decorative arts fair. The events will run concurrently in Paris Jan. 26-30.
Bertrand Bonnacier, managing director for Europe for leather upholstery manufacturer DeCoro, said the Salon du Meuble was “great” for his company.

“It was better than I thought it would be,” said Dominique Mercier, chairman and president of Grange. “I had projected a 40% drop in attendance and I was a little too pessimistic. It was more like 25%,  but we reduced our space 75% and did fine. And we have our flagship store here in Paris where we serve other retail accounts as well.”

The problems with the Salon show, Mercier said, were three-fold: the date is too early, the Maison show is stiff competition (especially since the later timing allows French retailers to finish their January sales before attending), and the  French economy and furniture in particular remain weak.

He said French furniture sales last year were up 2.5% from 2004. “But that was because of Ikea’s new stores. Otherwise furniture business was flat,” Mercier said.

Next year’s dates will be later, he said. The Salon’s 2014 edition is set for Jan. 11-15, with the closing date timed to coincide with the opening of the Cologne, Germany, furniture fair.

Case goods and upholstery importer Lifestyle Enterprise used the Paris show for a dual purpose, said William Hsieh, principal.

“We want to position our company as a global company, and Forbidden City is a symbol of China,” he said. “We’re also the sole licensee for all the artifacts of the Forbidden City.”