Swimming pools, roofs, cars and furniture: the Home and Automobile Show, an Ali Baba’s cave with nearly a hundred exhibitors, is open until Monday, September 23, at the Prisme.
They are among the stars of the Aurillac Home Show, this weekend at the Prisme: with Mobalpa, Cuisinella, Ixina, SoCoo’c and Hédom, kitchen designers are out in force in the aisles, barely more discreet than the furniture stores which are presenting gigantic sofas to the public.
The kitchen market has been boosted by Covid-19. The lockdowns of 2020 allowed players in the sector to claim double-digit growth in 2021. Stuck at home, the French have put the kitchen back at the center of the home.
Since then, the numbers have returned to the level observed before the pandemic. “Everyone has returned to normal life, so we spend less time in the kitchen,” notes Ludovic Jouve, for SoCoo’c.
Other criteria come into play: the new market is not very dynamic, credits are still a little high… “It’s a little calmer, but more concrete, notes Elsa Montarnal, sales manager for Cuisinella. We have to readapt. Customers don’t have the same habits.”
The kitchen before the house
Gone are the days of kitchens built with the house to last a lifetime, see children grow up and accompany old age. “These kitchens equipped with gendarme hats, we see them in renovations, notes Ludovic Jouve. Today, people buy the kitchen before the house, but they want to change it after ten to fifteen years.”
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“The kitchen is changed more quickly, but quality is sought after,” adds Elsa Montarnal. Paradoxical? Not really, since betting on sustainability can be a good bet: “Cheap is expensive, in the end…”
In this context, the Home Show serves “to show that we are there,” she notes. We are making contacts, before an important month for our group at the national level.” The market is competitive, “this can lead to a sale, but the important thing is to be present,” adds Ludovic Jouve. We have been there since 2018. This can help fuel the end of the year.”
Practical – Admission is free. The show is open Sunday, September 22, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Monday, September 23, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Theme of the year: the circular economy and second-hand goods, with Emmaüs, Recyclidée, Oxygène, Fring’Aide, Arch15, the Ressourcerie Terre d’éco, Be Plop, La Plantelière and the consumer association CLCV.
Pierre Chambaud
