Made in France wants to tour the globe. The eponymous show, which celebrates French production and craftsmanship, starts today in Paris, with a constantly increasing number of exhibitors. “In 2012, we welcomed 78 exhibiting companies and 15,000 visitors. This year we are expecting 100,000 visitors who will come to meet 1000 exhibiting companies!», Proudly declares Fabienne Delahaye, founder of the salon. All consumer sectors are represented there, with fashion and accessories in pole position, with almost 300 exhibitors.
Export highlighted
This year, the show will give pride of place to exports. “How is it possible to import so much, in a country so rich in know-how ?,” asks Fabienne Delahaye. Noting France's trade balance deficit (99.6 billion euros between 2022 and 2023), she is taking matters in hand. “We decided to invite buyers from the fashion, interior design and cosmetics sectors“, she says.
Expected foreign buyers come from all over the world, with a majority coming from South Korea, the United States, Japan and Taiwan. Among them, hotel groups, distributors, online sales sites and interior designers will come to meet French manufacturers. Some companies are already export champions, and one of them will be awarded a dedicated grand prize.
The three nominees are the slipper manufacturer Airplum, Parapluie de Cherbourg and the glassmaker Duralex. This is also the first time that the latter is participating in the show, the “Made in France” aspect of the brand having been put at the center of its marketing since its takeover. “Duralex's disease is that we were no longer on the shelvesexplains François Marciano, general director. Today, the goal for us is to put ourselves back in the spotlight.»
Made in France is luxury
If Duralex represents a certain international success, being distributed in 140 countries, will international consumers be receptive to the marketing argument of made in France? This is what the CCI France wanted to determine, through an Opinionway study unveiled on November 8. Conducted on samples of 1,000 people in Germany, China, the United States and Italy, it reveals that for a majority of voters, products made in France are luxury products (65.3% on average) and quality (63.5%)… But also, expensive products, with 53.8% of voters.
Concerning the industrial sectors, if in China, only jewelry stands out weakly (53% of voters) as a product category “emblematic of made in France”, cosmetics, food and wines and spirits find their audience in the other three countries, with between 62 and 79% of voters. Encouragingly for French exports, the majority of voters in all countries have already consumed products made in France and wish to do so more. It remains to be seen whether French exports will have a place in the United States, as the new president's potential protectionist measures are worrying for European manufacturers.
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