Sweden:Trade fairs on the up again

Executives of the company based in the Swedish capital are currently very satisfied. “2015 went pretty well for us. The trade fair market appears to have slowly recovered，”says Patric Sj？berg， Stockholmsm？ssen’s CEO， who goes on to talk about positive signals. Prior to that， there had been a number of years in which restraint was required. Many exhibitors responded to the economic situation by adopting a cautious approach. The Stockholm-based trade fair company has taken advantage of the more favourable recent circumstances to establish new events on the market. At the end of last year， a series of trade fairs was launched with a common theme： “Fit for Life”. Each of them is a combination of beauty fair， health fair and fitness festival. The mix has proved very popular with visitors.

It’s not just trade fairs that have been going well， however； the convention segment also recorded a number of high points last year. “We again hosted a number of important international medical conventions，” enthuses Patric Sj？berg.“They included the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes， which was attended by around 17，000 delegates.” There have also been plenty of developments in terms of the services provided. The leading Swedish trade fair company has introduced “responsive”web pages， which are presented differently depending on whether they are viewed on a PC， a smartphone or a tablet， for example. In addition， there is a new digital portal where exhibitors can find all the information they need. They can also use it to place all their orders at one go. “These online initiatives make life much simpler for everyone involved，”emphasises Sj？berg. “Both exhibitors and visitors.” They save time and are able to work more efficiently. The digital services are to be further developed in tandem with a Swedish startup company – with the aim of replacing existing apps with modern ones， including indoor visitor guidance.

Some of these will certainly be used increasingly in 2016. As in every even-numbered year， the calendar in Stockholm is full to the brim. In addition to important annual industry get-togethers such as the Stockholm Furniture Light Fair， further major events are held every other year. The Nordic Building and Construction Fair Nordbygg and GastroNord for the hotel， restaurant and catering trade are taking plac in April. But by no means is Stockholmsm？ssan resting o its laurels： “Business development is a high priority for us， declares Patric Sj？berg. “We will be focusing on the furthe development of our ConfEx events.” These are new even formats that are neither typical trade fairs nor conventions The Stockholmsm？ssan boss describes them as “event style conferences” with customers， who are integrated a sponsors， exhibitors or both.

He has a further reason for believing in the company success in 2016 and beyond. “Three years ago w underwent a painful streamlining process，” reports Sj？berg“As an organisation， we have now learned how to handl an event calendar that varies in intensity.” Increase adaptability and much greater cost flexibility are the secret The outcome is that the company is very well positione for the near future. At worst， the current uncertainty in th global economy could put a slight damper on its progress However， there are also reasons for thinking there may b further vigorous growth. One key trend is that Stockholm i developing well in terms of attractive leisure offerings an as a business hub. By way of example， Sj？berg mentions it strength in music， design， information and communicatio technology， the biosciences and environmental technology. The recent Stockholm Furniture Light Fair illustrate how well the city works as a trade fair host and lifestyl destination. “It’s one of our largest， most international trad fairs， and it’s of huge importance to our company and th city，” explains Sj？berg. The fair is held during Stockholm Design Week. Consequently， the exhibition halls are fille with designers， architects， interior decorators， artist and developers during the day， while at night they hea for the city centre and its design-related showrooms restaurants， theatres and other attractions. “It becomes a all-encompassing design experience，” says Sj？berg. “An it’s an experience that proves extremely popular with ou visitors”， culminating in a win-win situation： “On the on hand， the city of Stockholm is promoted as a centre fo business. On the other， it also bolsters the event’s positio as the world’s number one trade fair for furniture and lightin design” （www.stockholmsmassan.se）.