It is the European way of showcasing originally designed upholstery, window and wall coverings.
Despite obvious problems in the sector and in Europe MoOD was standing with a respectful pose again this year. Elke Arora interviewed Patrick Geysels, General Manager of MoOD. Full text of the exclusive interview follows:
Mr. Geysels, the MoOD 2013 is past. Let’s look into the future. The external course for the MoOD 2014 is already set. The next MoOD will take place in the halls 5, 8 and in the patio. You point out that the space size remains alike. Does this move mean –apart from the to be expected grandiose ambient- that you expect the same number of exhibitors like in this year?
There is no certitude in life! The MoOD organisation will work hard to have as many exhibitors in 2014 as there were in 2013.
In which product areas do you see the focal point of the MoOD 2014?
MoOD 2014 will be focusing on 3 product ranges in terms of importance: upholstery, window covering and wall covering.
Which part plays the ‘outdoor’ areas?
Outdoor fabrics part is an important part of the product range of a great deal of the MoOD exhibitors, which is still an important issue for the MoOD visitor. An elaborated outdoor area furbished with outdoor furniture is rather difficult to realise, both in a budget and organizational way.
How do you see the future of the ‘wall-covering’ at the MoOD?
Wallcovering is the smallest part of the offer at MoOD, but a very specified part of the market, more contract and textile oriented. It is our ambition to keep this part of the market in the future.
On the exhibitors side, it is noticeable that besides the strong contingent out of the EU territory, Turkey is comparatively strong represented, whereas the other non-EU countries are represented neither complete nor worth mentioning. How do you see here the possible development?
MoOD visitors come 80% from Europe, 15 from Asia and 5% from the US. The MoOD visitor is looking for a European-inspired offer. This is what our exhibitors have to offer wherever they come from. Indeed, Turkish exhibitors are an important part of the exhibitors’ range. This is quite obvious, at Turkey has become in the course of the years, one of the most important textile countries of the world.
Let us talk about the visitors of the MoOD. How many came this year and from which countries?
MoOD 2013 counted 6200 visitors. Most of them were Europeans, mainly from France, Germany and the UK with Asia and the USA remaining in second and third place. An increasing number of visitors from Central and South America had made the trip to Brussels.
Do you hope by the new halls-structure for the MoOD 2014 of more clearness and ‘shorter walking-distance’ for the visitors?
MoOD is a compact trade fair in terms of “walking distances”. An important issue to deal with in 2014 will be to optimise the ‘readability’ of the fair towards the visitor.
Do you have a survey about of which areas the visitors come from?
6200 professional visitors were present at MoOD 2013. Many among them visit the fair every year, but several visitors rediscovered MoOD after a few years of absence in order to find the latest novelties and new applications.
For how long do the respective visitor-groups stay?
50% of the visitors stay for two days.
Do you have knowledge about that if orders are written at the MoOD or if mainly information get collected?
10 years ago it was much more important to order “on the spot”. Nowadays, direct ordering is less important, the idea is much more towards composing collections, which is a general tendency on similar trade fairs.
Not every MoOD visitor travels by air, to use the shuttle bus to the exhibition ground. Could it be possible to offer to the travellers by train already in the stations of Brussels the relevant information for how to get the MoOD?
This is already a service we offer! There is a welcome/info desk in Brussels Airport as well as in Brussels South.
What are the criteria to exhibit at MoOD?
The criteria: 1) To own all materials and intellectual rights to the entire collection displayed at MoOD, 2) To be a producer, manufacturer or converter, 3) To have upholstery, window and wall in the product range.
How can MoOD guarantee that these stipulations are met?
Every new exhibitor has passed the MoOD commission committee.
MoOD stands for the European contract-fair. How will you, by the multitude of used materials and material-combinations and this resulting highly variable qualities, keep this high standard of the MoOD in the future?
MoOD wants to play an important role in the contract field by attracting exhibitors who realise a considerable percentage of their turnover in contract products. 40% of the 2013 exhibitors realise at least 25% of their sales in the contract market.
How much ‘original design’ can the MoOD present still in the future? Isn’t it rather possible that ‘original design’ gets modified and lead to absurdum by ‘the trend’?
Original designs are more and more a combined action between manufacturer and customer. This is a recent evolution. The role of the manufacturer is still a dominant part in this story and this matches perfectly with the criteria of MoOD.
A final question: For what reasons should a manufacturer present his products at the MoOD 2014? Which advantage and which extra benefits does MoOD Brussels offer?
MoOD Brussels is a unique event. This was once again the conclusion of many of the exhibitors on the latest day of the fair. It is a must for the sector! MoOD is highly specialised trade fair for producers of upholstery, window and wall. MoOD stands for the largest number of exhibitors from Europe and Eurasia in this field. MoOD has its own unique profile in a niche market and is organised at the right moment which reaches the demand.
