The AEO international dinner: Insights from France

The third and final AEO International Dinner of 2024 was held in Pavyllon at the Four Seasons Hotel on Park Lane, focusing on France, and kindly sponsored by AEO’s registration partner, Fusion by Clearcourse.

Senior AEO members were welcomed by AEO’s international organiser group, vice chair Damion Angus from Montgomery Group, and Éric Pierrejean from JEC Composites, a long-term exhibitor across many market sectors, and now organiser an association who run a large trade show, conferences and meetings serving the composite market for more than 60 years.

The evening started with an economic and political update:

• France is the 7th largest economy in the world, and whilst the change in Prime Minister was somewhat unexpected, the coalition government is new.
• There is a large deficit due to covid, public debt is high, and there are difficult decisions which have to be made.
• The economy is strong however, there are some clouds on the horizon; interest rates are high, meaning some businesses feel cautious and potential social unrest, with strikes if higher taxes come about.

Regulation and employment:

• There is a perception French labour laws are difficult and taxes high – however, they are comparable to other EU countries such as Germany
• As with other parts of Europe, understanding how things work is key, but it should not be exaggerated.
• Overall taxes are also similar, and they include, e.g. social care
• 1 or 2-days’ work from home is expected, especially in Paris - successful companies have management structures and staff expectations based on objectives and deliverables
• Historically redundancies and severance packages have been hugely costly and complex, but recent changes have helped with this
• Like other EU states, getting quality tax advice is important

Cultural differences:

• Local/regional and national events tend to be in French, and successful French organisers employ good English speakers and use English speaking agents for international shows, whose native tongue is English
• French speaking employees have great knowledge of local markets, but widening this knowledge is key for success for international markets
• There is a French based organisation called Promosalons founded in 1967, which promotes major French trade shows with more than 500 exhibitions across 52 offices in 120 countries around the world
• The association for organisers, venues and suppliers in France is called UNIMEV and they can advise on rules and regulations
• 100% of organisers are privately owned – not local authority owned like the Messe model
• The French government do not provide subsidies, other than general business support during the pandemic
• France is an appealing country, with a great lifestyle - it very welcoming, however, some infrastructure (such as taxis) falls a little behind

Infrastructure & show landscape:

• 450 trade shows just in Paris with lots of competition for international audiences
• Paris, Marseilles, Lyon, Nice and Cannes are leading in terms of space
• Paris , and the Ile de France region have 20 venues, and >700k of space – these are the choice for international shows
• 2nd tiers, e.g. Lyon have a good industrial base, with Cannes & Monaco very specialised markets – it can be expensive, and you need to book venue space and hotels at the same time
• Monaco is expanding into reclaimed land, but that is small, and as the existing venue is full, they are discerning on the nature and prestige of the events they host (e.g. F1 and Tennis)
• Whilst there is some profile policy within venue, in Paris as there are so many venues it is a competitive market
• There is no legal protection, and it is against French law to reject a tenancy, however, the individual venues work hard to try and avoid conflicts
• Pricing is controlled and regulated for space, but other items such as electrics are not and are inflationary
• Quality is sometimes an issue, but given the monopoly status of the larger venues, feedback is limited.
• There is lots of venue choice for launch events, but you need to keep a close eye on good transport links for international travellers

M&A and business:

• There are many individual shows, and great opportunities for acquisitions to buy market share
• The market has been quiet as shows recovered following the pandemic, however, it is now picking up, though some shows may well be distressed with debt
• It is much easier to have a French based team to run French shows – especially in marketing
• Local marketing is key to success for French shows using French nationals, however, there is a tipping point with a need to switch to international marketers as shows become more international
• It is hard and expensive to get French speakers, especially after Brexit
• There has been a consolidation of French based contractors, and they are tied to venues, however, more international contractors are now operating in the region
• ESG is important and talked about a lot – people are recycling and measuring/reducing waste (UNIMEV have a calculator)
• Visitors and exhibitors understand how efficient exhibitions are but the events need to prove this
• H&S and workforce is standard and BAU; with Data protection consistent across EU states

The future:

• Trade shows are back to pre-pandemic levels, b2c is still down around 20% (substantiated by Chamber of Commerce and Barometer both noting a 25% decrease)
• The conference model is good but tough – it is hard to get delegates to spend, so there is more of a focus on hosted buyer activation at trade shows
• Conference content is widely becoming available so less of a reason to attend
• Markets are becoming more local – US becoming more US, China becoming more Chinese, the EU however, is becoming more of a gateway for east & west
• Costs are rising and becoming, so there is a push to package costs to help protect the customer

In summary, there was a feeling that France is a great gateway to reaching the EU market. The French Olympics shone a light on the region, and it is expected this will create a boost for some time to come.

The International group is looking at regions for the international dinners next year, with, the US, Middle East, Asia and possibly Japan. It is also in the midst of planning the content for AEO International CEO Summit in January. We’d like to pass on our thanks again to Eric for sharing his thoughts, and Damion and Simon for chairing the group.

If you would like to know more about the group or activities please contact Lauren@aeo.org.uk.

View the event gallery