Salone del Mobile, Italian design stars in Riyadh
Over 400 B2B meetings between Italian companies and local operators. System operation looking at a strategic market
Key points
At one point the platform for booking B2B meetings went 'sold out'. Too many requests for meetings - from local operators - with the 38 Italian furniture-design companies that took part in the event organised by Salone del Mobile in the Saudi capital, "Red in Progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh'. Three days of business meetings between companies (from 26 to 28 , but also talks and round tables to bring the culture of Italian design to this country - strategic for the sector -.
The voices of Italian companies
"It is a path. And like all paths it will take time, as it did 10-15 years ago in Dubai. I have to say that here at the show we mainly met architects and interior designers, because we work mainly in the contract sector, and I found people who are very educated and open to Italian style,' says Jamila Abdallah, business developer for the Middle East area of Listone Giordano, one of the companies present at the event. 'Now we have to work to reach the taste of the end consumers, and I think events like this are very useful in this sense.
For Carola Bestetti, CEO of Living Divani, the Salone del Mobile can also play a role as a great accelerator for the entry or consolidation of Italian furniture companies in this market, which is as important as it is complex. "We will see in the coming months whether the meetings held here in Riyadh have been followed up, but for sure events like this one are very useful at this historic moment, as is all the institutional work that has been done to bring it about," explains the entrepreneur. "We as a company have some ongoing projects on the Red Sea and for the Stadium, but we do not have a direct presence and I personally had never been here, so it was a very interesting opportunity. However, I think there is still a lot of work to be done to make people understand the quality and value of Italian design'.
Eleonore Cavalli, co-founder and creative director of Visionnaire, a high-end furniture company that has been operating in Saudi Arabia for several years, through its flagship store in Dubai, especially in the residential contract sector, speaks of a "successful" event. "We really liked this format studied by the Show and we appreciated the system operation made also with the support of Ice and Farnesina, with the presence at the inauguration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani," explains Cavalli. "We have been working in this market for a long time and we know that the role of institutions has a great value in this country, as well as that of people. Arab customers appreciate it when they can meet a member of the family'. Visionnaire is evaluating the possibility of opening a corner in Riyadh: 'We have met with a potential dealer and have reached an agreement,' adds Cavalli. 'I think it is also important to have a physical presence in the market, given the large number of luxury projects in which we can be involved: customers need to touch our products and try them on.
Still in the luxury sector, Villari has also been present in Saudi Arabia for several years. "I pushed very hard to have a Salon event in Riyadh: this is a very important market, also as a gateway to Africa,' says owner Barbara Villari. I must congratulate the top management of the salon for having organised such a beautiful project in such a short time, in a wonderful location. It was also an opportunity to find new contacts for us, who have also been present here for some time. We must continue to invest in Saudi Arabia'.
