Esprit Meuble
Small trade show turned big
Who would've believed that ? While during the previous decade, the Paris furniture fair, out of breath, was absorbed in the Maison & Objet movement under the name Meuble Paris, no one gave much so that one day France would once again become a place totally dedicated to the sector.
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And then, as nature abhors a vacuum, several furniture manufacturers decided to restart the machine. They took matters into their own hands to create a salon on the baptismal font under the very original name Esprit Meuble. Some doubted the relevance of the idea. They were wrong, since 10 after the 2023 edition shows brilliant health. It is not Gaëtan Menard, president of the show and Alain Liault, vice president who will say the opposite.
It was indeed necessary to dare, so much the idea resembled to be mistaken there to a lost cause or almost. It seemed to be taken for granted in some minds that the profession no longer needed a specific platform on our territory. This absurd thought had germinated in many heads. However, and despite a certain lack of ambient enthusiasm, this did not prevent the trade show Esprit Meuble, to be placed on the baptismal font in the fall of 2012, at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center, an emblematic place if ever there was one. In any case, the disgruntled spirits and the Cassandres got their money's worth, since the show aroused immediate interest, with an offer already strong enough to be credible, and real support from the players in the profession. Then from year to year the show has continued to grow, so much so that for this 2022 edition it has posted exceptional results that satisfy the organizers. Indeed, no less than 12,271 visitors made the trip during the 4 days, between November 19 and 21, of which 18% came from abroad. This result constitutes an increase of some 19%, a record which therefore reaches, and even exceeds the most optimistic forecasts of Gaëtan Menard, who had set the bar at the highest forecast at 12,000 for this tenth edition.
A happy decade for Esprit Meuble
All these professionals were therefore able to discover the novelties and innovations of 314 exhibiting brands present according to a breakdown of 154 French and 160 foreign, this last figure deserves special attention. Indeed, the internationalization of the show seems this time well launched, which will not fail to attract even more the attention of new visitors from various countries for future editions. All these little people were able to survey 42,000m2 of exhibition space. On this subject, it is already certain that the show will leave halls 7/1 and 7/2 to occupy the famous hall 1, which is not nothing. It is even a form of consecration since this very emblematic site hosts the biggest meetings on the planet. Better still, the organizing teams will benefit from an additional space of 3,000m2, which means that the 2023 edition will be held on 45,000 m2 instead of the 42,000 of that of this year 2022.
Everyone will therefore have understood that all the indicators are green for Esprit Meuble, despite an economic environment that is complicated to say the least. This astonishing success deserves some explanation, however. These excellent results are not the consequences of an operation of the Holy Spirit, far from it. For 10 years, the managers of the show have been working to polish, refine their offer, energize it and add conviviality, which does not spoil anything. Knowing that you can't catch flies with vinegar, at each edition they have put the work back on the job to arrive at this superb 2022 edition, which marks a decisive turning point in its history, since the show is now well more than a platform dedicated mainly to furniture and decoration, and incidentally the kitchen. Indeed, this sector has been strengthened in a very spectacular way, with the doubling of its number of exhibitors, from specialized furniture, through equipment, accessories and utensils, household appliances, distributors and service providers. This arrival in force marks a decisive turning point in the history of a living room which we vaguely feel tends to become the meeting place for the layout and decoration of the house as a whole.
The forces of the spirit
Still, this contingent integrated in a very substantial way in number worked perfectly thanks to a very specific and very effective methodology, by very skilfully declining the spirit word according to the product families. This is how the furniture and the seats are grouped under the title Esprit meuble, bedding and bedding accessories under that of Esprit sommeil, decoration and its elements, lighting, carpets, and everything related to staging and in-store offers under the term of Esprit déco, and finally with Esprit Cuisine, everyone will have understood what was there. It is therefore a very clear offer, very easy to identify that professional visitors from all these sectors have been able to discover, without being totally surprised, for the regulars since this distribution of the offer has worked in this way since its creation. However, the major event of this edition is obviously the arrival in force of the kitchen which was greatly noticed, not only by the number of its exhibitors but also by the quality of the novelties and innovations proposed by the actors of 'a profession that does not seem to know the crisis, or at least to face it with solid arguments. It is indeed quite remarkable to note the quality of the overall offer of the sector which continues to become more sophisticated and consequently to move upmarket, thanks above all to the remarkable efforts of manufacturers and manufacturers who compete in imagination . They demonstrate it as everyone has seen firsthand. Clearly, the kitchen sector is on the rise. It fits perfectly with the times and its presence at the Esprit Meuble show is a tremendous accelerator and an opportunity for the organizers to cover even more the field of the development of our habitat. For the rest, the offer is without fundamental surprise, even if it is always obvious that the field of bedding is still very attractive, with products that are constantly technically optimized for consumer comfort. However, the same remark is valid for each of the sectors from a qualitative point of view. However, this should not make us forget that the furniture and bedding sector will probably not experience galloping growth due to a very specific economic situation. Indeed, this was one of the worlds of consumption that took advantage of the Covid crisis and its multiple confinements, which prompted households to look into improving and decorating their living space. This very particular situation should not be brought to reproduce since the authorities and the health services better informed on the nature of this virus will not take the same decisions in terms of restrictions, far from it. We should also not lose sight of the slowdown in real estate due to the housing shortage and the decline in loans whose interest rates are constantly rising. Should we be more worried than necessary? nay. If the slowdown is real, it is not brutal and many acquisitions have been made by households until recently. So there are still potential development opportunities. And then, we must not forget the reopening of trade fairs all over the world which will revitalize all sectors of activity, thanks to the physical meetings from which we have all been weaned over the past two years, especially on the international level. It was enough to see the pleasure and good humor caused by the pleasure of face-to-face encounters that nothing can replace.
Did you say hybrid?
However, we must not overlook a new element in the world of living rooms, with the arrival of what is commonly called hybridization. This is how each organizer concerned proposes to perpetuate the online offer beyond the closing dates of the shows, via specialized sites dedicated to exchanges. Esprit Meuble is therefore no exception to the phenomenon, since now a digital platform will allow exhibitors to offer their offer 365 days a year. It will have a database of some 70,000 contacts. It is therefore a perpetual fair that actors will be offered on:
e-espritmeuble.espritmeuble.com
And since we are in the field of the future, it is already certain that a new space will appear next year, called Esprit “Contract” will be reserved for players involved in this market of prescribers of all kinds and other communities. To this end, 40 specialized exhibitors have already agreed to present their products adapted to this particular sector. Appointments in a specific format will be set up for this purpose. Finally, like any self-respecting fair, price reductions took place. Named M Esprit Meuble Awards, their objective was to reward the innovations of the registered brands, in 7 categories: Furniture, Kitchen, Household appliances-sanitary, Equipment-accessories, bedding, seats, services, plus an 8th special prize for the initiative. In partnership with FNAEM, SNEC and GIFAM. Rewarded respectively: Tables à la carte, Binova, Elica, MSA, Simmons, Fama, Nooty, and the 8th dedicated to the committed initiative, rewarded Grundig for its program to fight against waste.
So here is a 10th edition of Esprit Meuble, rich in novelties, rich in animations, rich in its programming, rich in its decoration so attractive with its bright and tonic colors. And as in France, everything always ends with songs, the organizers offered the guests of the Monday evening reception a memorable evening with a Louis Bertignac, who lost none of his talent by dynamiting the atmosphere. So here is a success all along the line for this edition of the decade which bodes well for the one to come, under the best auspices.

