Florence Rousson of Première Vision says “if 500 exhibitors will be appropriate in future, we’ll do it”

The Première Vision Paris trade show staged a smaller-scale session than usual on July 1-3, featuring 930 exhibitors as opposed to 1,293 a year earlier, distributed across two halls. Last year, the event was attended by 25,117 visitors, while this year the organisers have said there were 8,000 companies represented among the visitors. Florence Rousson, recently appointed president of Première Vision, has talked to FashionNetwork.com about her plans for the Première Vision and Tranoï shows, and more broadly for the fashion division of event organiser GL Events.

FashionNetwork: What is your view of the context of this edition of PV Paris, and what does it mean for the show?

Florence Rousson: Our industry is currently going through a complex period, and we are committed to deploying a transformation plan for this show. It’s important for us to take some time to make an assessment, and to reconnect firmly with the market, to then come back after the summer with new projects for 2025. We’re keen to create the right kind of value. We know there are a fashion aspect, a business aspect, and our DNA’s three mainstays, which we want to preserve, because that’s what has made Première Vision (PV) so successful. Working on a transformation doesn’t mean rejecting what we’ve been. I have a lot of respect and admiration for all the work that has been done on this event, which still is a must-attend show. I’m carefully looking into our transformation, but without discarding what is working, and what we have. 

FNW: What are your three mainstays?

FR: The first of our mainstays is fashion. We need to be a little more open, perhaps more attuned to societal trends and perspectives, subjects we aren’t necessarily covering nowadays. Then there’s the international element. The whole world comes to Paris, so how can we build on this? Perhaps with a multi-regional approach, and by staging events in new countries. Our third mainstay is selectivity, which may have become something of a “constraint,” but which, since we have in-depth market knowledge, can give us the opportunity of responding to the needs of businesses in different ways.

The project for which Olivier Ginon [president of GL Events] appointed me is to work with our team on setting up a fashion division for GL Events. It’s a business that currently operates some 15 shows, in Paris, Asia and the USA, covering the entire supply chain, from raw materials to finished products. By rationalising our range of events, we’ll be able to respond to companies asking for advice by saying “don’t go to this event but to that one, because it’s a better match with your policy and strategy.” And that’s a nice challenge.
 
FNW: This edition [of PV Paris] was clearly more compact than previous ones. How much of this downsizing was an imposition as opposed to a choice? 

FR: How a show evolves depends on a variety of factors. Our sector is in crisis, and companies are looking to make contact. So the show simply reflects what is happening in a highly competitive market. On a certain level, I’m not so interested in the metrics associated with a specific event, because we still are a show with 939 exhibitors, and this remains significant. Having worked in many other sectors besides textiles, [I know] there are few major trade shows like [PV Paris] in France. Above all, what interests us is to be able to work on our value, and on our event’s scale. If tomorrow the market will change, and the appropriate formula for a trade show will be to have 500 exhibitors in one hall, we’ll do it with 500 exhibitors in one hall, it doesn’t matter. We don’t want to fit everyone in for the sake of doing it.

Selectivity is one of Première Vision’s strengths. This must be preserved. I fully accept the fact that this session was held in two tightly-packed halls. It allowed us to generate a level of activity around the stands that we had not seen for a while at Première Vision. It’s important that a show doesn’t add to everyone’s anxiety, broadcasting a message of market difficulties to an already tense business environment.

Our event must be like a breath of fresh air, a place where industry professional also go to recharge their batteries, meet new suppliers, think about how their business is changing, and more. That’s what matters to us. I think that the mindset of measuring a trade show’s performance through exhibitor and visitor figures only has become obsolete.

FNW: Figures, however, are still an indicator. Italy, which has always been the most represented country at PV Paris, has halved its presence in one year. The presence of Turkish and Asian producers has prompted exhibitors to switch to Italy. What do you think about this shift? 

FR: Certain strategies have been adopted at times, and opportunities have been considered, and I accept them today as president of Première Vision. They were regarded as the right strategies when decisions were made. But tomorrow, what do we want to do with Première Vision? What value shall we create in a highly competitive environment and market context, one in which several show organisers are active? I believe that the answer to our questions is prompting us to think about the French and primarily the European market. [PV Paris] remains a major event, one that is eagerly anticipated and a must for many buyers. We also have something of a duty to tell ourselves that we might seek new revenue by tweaking what we are offering.

FNW: Does heightened competition make it more difficult for European, Turkish and Asian manufacturers to cohabit at the same show?

FR: I don’t know. The range of products they offer is different. Each company, depending on its strategy, will choose one event over another. It’s a freedom they all have. What we need to think about, at a time when the market is being disrupted by a twin structural and economic crisis, is how to create opportunities for companies visiting our events. We currently have fewer Italian [exhibitors]. Maybe in future their number will rise again. Are companies currently able to make specific medium-term strategic plans? I think it’s extremely difficult, given the market disruption that is occurring today. What interests us, therefore, is to encourage an evolutionary dynamic, and to adopt a transformation mindset. With an approach that involves staying close to the market, co-designing [events] and providing support.

FNW: In terms of support, the matchmaking service you launched in February has quickly gained momentum. Is it something that could be expanded? 

FR: Our service of organising business meetings is indeed growing, and for me it’s interesting to work on this type of indicator too, and not only on overall figures. In February, we scheduled a little less than 600 meetings. We’re now at 1,500, with 230 senior international executives. The whole thing has expanded hugely. This proves that we have the capacity to revamp our services, that we are able to create connections and support for industry professionals, and eventually to organise events designed for them.

With the same rationale, we have worked on our ‘Hosted Guest’ programme in this session. We have invested over €2 million in 12 months, going out to find buyers and taking care of their travel to Paris, so that they can come and meet manufacturers. They are either former Première Vision visitors, or new players. And for the first time this year, we have worked with the Business France [agency] as part of the ‘Exports Start in France’ programme, so that French companies can benefit from its support. This is significant, it’s probably something we’ll continue to do in the future.

FNW: Exhibitors told us they were asked about the possibility of PV Paris being staged in September again. What are your thoughts on the subject?

FR: We have to ask the question. We’re operating in a market that is no longer reliant on two set seasons, things have changed. And we have a duty to systematically question what we’re doing, especially with regards to the calendar and trend forums, which in this edition were fewer and organised slightly differently. Trade shows are becoming shorter, industry executives have less time to visit. It would be dangerous if we didn’t ask ourselves these questions, but it’s not a matter of taking a gung-ho approach and systematically changing everything. I don’t want to rush into these kinds of decisions.

FNW: You mentioned the fashion division at GL Events. Which bridges do you need to build with the Tranoï shows?

FR: This is precisely one of the subjects we’re working on, and it’s interesting for us to deal with the entire supply chain. We’ll have more answers on this topic in the autumn. There is also the issue of trade shows abroad. We have the Fashion Source show in Asia, and Première Vision sessions in New York and Shenzhen. Industry specificity is one aspect, and regional specificity is another. We’re keen to strengthen our position in Europe, but also in Asia and the Americas. Because the market is fragmented, and we need to remain consistent.

FNW: What role does the PV marketplace play, now and in future, in your overall vision? 

FR: We’re working on our marketplace. The issue that I most want to address in the short term is “how do we consolidate the role of our in-person events?” Because it seems even more important to me, now that the market is still disrupted and struggling, to facilitate the best possible “physical” connection between market players. Maybe things will change, and we’ll come up with a slightly different solution. It’s something we are actively working on, but it’s not a priority for me.