AIMEX -

GENOA BOAT SHOW vs SEATEC  

9 August 2010

Genoa Boat Show vsSeatec

AIMEX recently asked Austrade Milan to provide a comparison between the Genoa show and Seatec. Following is an excellent overview of both these shows by Sheralyn Derrick

Australian Consulate General & Austrade. 

Genoa International Boat Show (Salone Nautico):

• The Salone Nautico is without a doubt the most important marine event in Italy and is held annually each October in the port city of Genoa (this year will be the 50th edition). 
• The event runs for 9 days covering two weekends - the weekends are particularly important for general public visitors with trade business being more focused during the week. 
• It is attended by practically all the big names in the Italian boat building industry - there is a large marina area for over 500 boats (the majority are motor boats however there is also a section for sailing boats), as well as a number of indoor pavilions, including a dedicated area for components and accessories.   There are also a number of conferences held during the event with key industry players, including government representatives and policy makers.
• The exhibition is divided into various product categories and exhibitors must therefore be located in the appropriate area - country pavilions are therefore not permitted at this stage.
• In 2009 there were 1450 exhibitors of which 536 were foreign (ie. just over one third). 
• A number of Australian companies are present each year via their Italian distributors. 
• Visitor numbers were significantly down during the last edition with respect to the year before - over the 9 days there was a total of around 280,500 visitors, 11% less than in 2008.  There was reportedly a drop of 25% in visitor numbers for the first weekend, which is traditionally the busiest time.  Whilst long-term exhibitors also re-confirmed that visitor numbers were clearly down, some boatbuilders felt the quality of queries or number of serious clients was still consistent with past years.  Exhibitors in the accessories and components pavilion however confirmed that visitor numbers were down by up to 50% in that area and felt that the show is suffering from too large a scope, suggesting that a more focused, specialised exhibition would be better for business.
• The marine sector in Italy was hit extremely hard by the global financial crisis and whilst it is finally starting to show a few more positive signs with some more orders flowing through, local companies are still very cautious and expect the recovery to be long and slow.  Some well known boat builders have still gone into liquidation this year.
• ANALYSIS:  While the Genoa Show is a very important one for the industry in Italy, at the same time it can be difficult to stand out amongst the many exhibitors, especially without the critical mass of a country pavilion.  Comments made by accessories and components exhibitors about the significant reduction in visitors to that section and the lack of specialisation should also be taken into account.  For the significant cost involved in participating in a 9 day event at a time when the industry is far from buoyant, Australian companies not already represented in Italy may wish to consider investing instead in identifying a local distributor.  Exhibiting via an Italian distributor is naturally much more cost effective and ensures exporters have in-market representatives with language and cultural skills that can effectively service and follow up local customer queries and demand.

Seatec (Exhibition of technology, subcontracting and design for boats, megayachts and ships):

• Seatec is a specialised marine technology fair held each February in Carrara in Tuscany.  The 2011 edition will be the 9th. 
• It is a 3 day event focused on trade business. 
• The fair covers a vast range of marine equipment, components, instruments, fittings, technology and services. 
• In this year's event there were around 750 exhibitors (a 22% drop from the previous edition) of which 35% were foreign. 
• Visitor numbers were around 8,700 - a 23% drop on last year's event.  Well over 90% of the visitors were Italian and around 30% were from boatyards.  It is not surprising to see the numbers go down given the state of the industry and as some exhibitors have highlighted, it is more important to have consistent levels of quality visitors rather than high levels of visitors that aren't serious; nonetheless, the drop was significant and ultimately means less exposure and a potentially lower return on the investment to exhibit.
• As with most fairs, a number of conferences, presentations and award presentations are also held during the event, as well as special events for the Italian marine motor association.
• For the past few years there have been 2-3 Australian companies present via their Italian distributors.

• ANALYSIS:  Given the local nature of the fair and the overwhelming numbers of Italian visitors, it would be highly advisable for any participant to ensure they had Italian speakers on the stand in order to fully capitalise on the opportunities, discussions and potential interest.  I haven't personally visited the show however I am in contact with the organisers and would be very happy to negotiate with them on your behalf should you or any of your members be interested to participate.  One benefit of Seatec as opposed to METS with respect to the Italian industry is that it is located in a part of Italy in which a large number of Italian boat builders have shipyards, therefore it is relatively easy for these companies to visit the fair.  Having said that, many of these companies are highly sought after by marine component suppliers around the world and certainly don't need to visit the fair in order to source new products.  One possible approach could be to trial the show via a shared stand divided amongst a small number of selected companies with complementary products, however given the more targeted trade nature of the show, I believe it would be important to have direct representatives present on the stand who can undertake technical discussions with interested parties in order to capture serious business.  It may be advisable to evaluate the outcomes of next year's edition first to determine whether the downward trends have reversed and an investment of this nature would therefore have a greater opportunity of generating positive outcomes. As with Genoa however, participation via an Italian distributor who can efficiently service local demand would be an ideal approach.

If anyone would like to contact Sheralyn her email is  sheralyn.derrick@austrade.gov.au