SHOP PROJECT ”World
Shopfitting Exhibition” in Fiera Milano, 20.-23. October
2006
…and the ISO Management Committee Meeting 23.10.06.
www.shoproject.expocts.it and www.federlegno.it
This great
initiative “Shop Project” by a.o. other the Assarredo Federlegno-Arredo, the Italian Shopfitting Organisation and
member of ISO, International Shopfitting Organisation took place for the first
time in October 2006, and as a “first” is considered a well deserved success by
ISO.
Why
The event,
and the impressive Fiera Milano
exhibition centre’s futuristic design and functionallity,
had convinced ISO’s management, that
Milan was the place to gather for ISO’s traditional autumn programme: The
annual ISO Incentive Tour* for the education of the next generation of
shopfitters and designers, and the semi annual meeting of ISO’s board: The
Management Committee meeting.
Welcome, meeting the Italians
The ISO
executives were welcomed by Fransesca Cavallo of the organisers ExpoCTS,
registered, handed Catalogues, and guided to the welcome lounge for further
information, refreshments and meeting the organiser’s team.
A joint
tour to some of the highlights of the exhibition, and to the Assarredo booth (see photo) lead on to the booth of CRC
company, the ceo being ISO’s Italian member
president, Mr. Fabio Pedroni Ratti.
Views on international shopfitting in general, Italian and European in
particular were exchanged, and common fields of interest were obvious.
Mr. Pedroni’s CRC company, as a good
example, is exporting more than half of it’s quality shop fixtures to a number
of countries in and out of
Look around, great designs and try some language
exercise
After the
meetings, the ISO group separated and walked around the exhibition
individually, finding the average booth of high quality, design, idea’s and inspiration plentiful, and the staff friendly but not very much English speaking!
ISO has 3 official languages,
English, German and French, but on 50% of the booths it did not make any
difference! In a country with 60 million people, all speaking Italian, it of
course not necessary to speak English too, but for an international exhibition,
it’s a must. Whether big language groups in the world today, such as Spanish,
Chinese (Cantonese or mandarin), Urdu, French, Italian - like
it or not: English has become the business language of the world. Very much
thanks to internet, but it’s a fact. ISO has taken the consequence, and (in
It works,
and as my old Dad used to say:
“It doesn’t
matter what language you speak, as long as you understand each other!”
And he was
right. And with 9 national shopfitting associations in ISO, we all know it is
right. We have so much more in common, than what separates us. Deepest down, we
understand each other.
What next?
With this
in mind, we all look forward to the next Shop Project which is planned to take
place in Fiera Milano again
in 2009. Hear more about it when we all meet in Düsseldorf in 2008, the ISO
Booth there
will contain all the information you need, of past,
present and future events of importance in the Shopfitting Industry. This include the next Shop Project, a must whether as
exhibitor, wanting to sell or visitor looking for sources in the Italian
market.
ISO
congratulate the Assarredo Federlegno-Arredo
to a great show, and thanks the ExpoCTS for their
hospitality and professional organisation of the show and ISO’s participation
and meeting there. A.o. thanks to that, ISO had a
very efficient MC Meeting with important decisions for the future. Apart from
the language issue, the next coming event in
ISO’s 50th Anniversary
Congress in Rimini,
Welcome!
Preben
Bailey
ISO
secretary general
08.11.2006
*) Read all
about the ISO Incentive Tour in