A more than positive feeling and a lot of dynamism at Big Buyer 2019, which from November 13th to 15th brought together 7,000 Buyers and all the excellence of the Stationery, Office, Toy, Creativity, Party and Gift sectors in Bologna. Among the many factors that have contributed to the success of the B2B Fair stand the level of internationality achieved, the many product and trends 2020 previews, the new merchandise on display, the added value of Made in Italy, the engaging program of Conferences and Creative Laboratories. The organization is working for the 25th edition, which will be held on 25, 26, 27 November 2020 and which has already started with enthusiasm.
An atmosphere of great enthusiasm for all three days of Event was the fil rouge of Big Buyer 2019, an edition that exceeded the expectations of Exhibitors, Visitors, Organizers and which stood out for many significant aspects. The results obtained in terms of internationalization certainly stand out. With regard to the exhibition parterre, over 240 Italian and Foreign Top Players and Top Brands worked intensely and benefited from networking with qualified contacts.
“Foreign Exhibitors are constantly increasing year after year – specifies the General Director Simonetta Pfeiffer – and they see Big Buyer as a valid partner to develop new businesses while ensuring our Visitors a global and complete overview of the offer. At the same time, foreign buyers who participate in the event are growing and also last November had the opportunity to get in touch with new suppliers, to consolidate existing partnerships, and to update on the most authoritative issues in the sector,”
And in this regard deserves a special remark the interesting trend that occurred at Big Buyer and that opens new horizons: at Exhibitors’ stands were signed a large number of orders and special promotions that Companies have studied specifically for Buyers got excellent feed-backs. As for the areas of origin, considerable increases for Buyers from the Balkans and Northern European countries. There are also many accesses by Professionals from Germany, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, demonstrating how the Fair is increasingly a point of reference for those in search both of quality proposals to be integrated into their offer and of an efficient business and networking hub.
The vast panorama of Made in Italy guaranteed by the Kermess was unanimously appreciated. In fact, Big Buyer is the only Fair in the sector that brings together all the excellence of 100% Italian productions, standard-bearers of design and always highly sought after by Distributors and end users, who are looking for level assortments. “Given the excellent results achieved, even in 2020 we will continue our policy of international expansion through dedicated programs that can always put in closer relation Companies and Buyers and give timely responses, paving the way for new concrete opportunities and collaborations”, anticipates Simonetta Pfeiffer.
Among the factors that have decreed the success of Big Buyer 2019, we also point out new Visitors targets that attended the Fair: to wholesalers, Office Suppliers, Global Players, GDO Buyers and Stationers – who as always visited the Exhibition – the number of Booksellers, Toymakers and Fine Arts Retailers increased significantly. Even for these audiences, Big Buyer aims to become the benchmark show, being able to count an increasing number of leading companies in their market and providing comprehensive ideas and many proposals from parallel sectors that are now indispensable in their stores.
The development of the merchandise offer on show that is even more complete obtained many consensus. The integration of sectors such as Toy, Publishing for Children and Gifts has been received with great interest and has created synergies that will be intensified in 2020. Simonetta Pfeiffer says: “The 25th edition of Big Buyer will keep all the key elements of its format but, at the same time, it will focus on innovation. In fact, it will open up to new compartments of great appeal that fit well into the concept, among which I can report the Licensing and the Services with regard to the Stationery area. Fine Arts will be confirmed as central, which are now a certainty of the Fair and which are well suited to being protagonists of authentic events in the event.”
From year to year, in fact, reference Companies that exhibit at Big Buyer grow and in 2019 the segment was further enhanced by the engaging Creative Labs that attracted the attention of an even greater number of specialized Buyers. During the Event many Companies – including Faber-Castell, Chameleon Art Products, Cwr, Koh-I-Noor, Pentel, STAEDTLER – organized Laboratories in their stands, supported by artists and specialists. The best techniques for using products (especially in Colouring, Calligraphy and Hand Lettering) and demonstrations to be replicated in Stationeries and shops to give more services to customers have been appreciated by Visitors. But the Labs also gave participants new information to improve assisted sales and customer services, as in the case of Labs dedicated to the techniques of the Wrapper held, for example, by Saul Sadoch-Rex and Brizzolari.
“The development of Big Buyer also in 2020 will pass from the expansion of the Visitors park and above all from activities aimed at new interlocutors, active in the Office world and in the General Services both of the Large Users and of the Public Administration, which at Big Buyer will find more dedicated products, complete solutions and profitable comparison tables “, says Simonetta Pfeiffer. The Office world, in fact, will be one of the pillars of Big Buyer’s growth policy, which wants to respond swiftly and completely to changes that are affecting the sector, the concept of work, workplace management and Wellness. Big Buyer is already the reference Fair for Office products and is ready to expand the Exhibitor portfolio and the range of specific proposals for the work environment, focusing on solutions for Wellness, seating, furniture and accessories at 360°, Lighting, Security and Technology.
To better understand the Office market and its evolution, at Big Buyer 2019 a Conference of great appeal and international reach was organized, on the afternoon of Wednesday 13 which offered a whole series of ideas for the specialized Industry and for Distribution. The meeting, titled “Wellbeing in the Office and the new commercial opportunities that the segment provides to Office Suppliers and Facility Manager”, has put many aspects of health under the magnifying glass, understood not only as a way of rethinking the workplace and to increase productivity but also to open new horizons to those who deal with purchases.
Among the many speakers who bring their vision, we mention Barrie Hayes, CEO of BPGI-Business Products Group International, who, after proposing an interesting excursus on the evolution of the concept of Wellbeing in the Office over the last 20 years, has indicated the four key-elements to improve office activities: reviewing the team by entering valid people, improving lighting, comfort and communication. The change taking place in the Office world is also supported by the new legislation on Wellness and Safety, company assessments and the approach to more flexible work as requested by new generations of employees. To support all these theories clearly expressed by Mr. Hayes, five case histories of Companies that have already invested and with excellent returns on the welfare of employees and the workplaces were presented: Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple.
The testimony of Louise Shipley, Fellowes’ Business Team Manager and Workspace Management, was very appreciated; she illustrated a series of European-wide data that highlights the transition phase that the Office is experiencing. Among the surveys stand out: European employees spend about 5-6 hours a day sitting at their desks, 56% of companies have budgeted expenses for corporate well-being and 74% confirm that they have specific programs in store in this area. Even Monica Leonardi, Marketing and Communication Manager of Fellowes-Leonardi, offered the audience the unpublished results of the Fellowes 2019 “Health and Wellness” research, an area of interest for those who work in companies but for which 3 out of 5 people lack an adequate level of information.
The quality of an Office product in terms of Wellness is the element that employees pay the most attention to (62%). But the health also has a commercial value, because it opens new doors to Office Suppliers that can identify in the Facility Managers, very attentive to the Wellness of the workplace theme, new types of customers and new business methods. And it was on this front that two Best Practices of international realities – Max Mara Fashion Group and Tetra Pak Packaging Solutions – were present to highlight the prospects for integrating Wellness-Facility-Office Supplies.
Big Buyer 2019 has clearly brought out and enhanced all the macro trends that are accompanying the development of the Stationery & Office sector, among which environmental sustainability stands out, which translates into authentically green proposals and collections, born not only from improved production but also from the use of cutting-edge materials and excellent yield. There is also space for the customization, increasingly requested and strategic, and the need to integrate new product categories into the catalogue or shelf offers, to make purchases more fluid and rewarding.
Sparkle coloured pencils by A.W. Faber-Castell Italia have “shone” in the Web Stationery Award 2019, and Michele Piemontese, CEO of the company, collected the award. The 13th Top Design Award was won by the line “ZENITH GOLD” by Balma, Capoduri & C., a concentrate of aesthetics, functionality, sophistication and authentic Made in Italy. While the Corporate Culture Award was awarded to Laura Chemolli, Stefania Ursino and Paolo Chemolli of the Duomo Center Stationery in Trento.
