Maison & Objet traffic up 8.3%

Paris— Maison & Objet, the decorative home products show here, drew 76,249 buyers in late January, an 8.3% increase from 2005, according to show organizers.

Planete Meuble, a new furniture show debuting in January and overlapping the Maison show, attracted 18,125 buyers, the sponsors

Dates have been set for both shows in January 2007, when they will again overlap. Planete Meuble will take place Jan. 25–29 in the Paris Le Bourget Exhibition Centre, while Maison & Objet is set for Jan. 26–30 in the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre.

Most of the Planete Meuble attendance — 59.1% — was from France and other European Union nations. Other top regions represented were Asia (13.2%), Western Europe excluding the EU (6.7%), North America (5.8%), the Middle East (5.6%) and Eastern Europe (3.6%).

The Maison attendance was 65% French and 35% international, with upswings in buyers from several regions. The United States and Canada sent 18% more people, while other big gains came from Eastern Europe (up 41%), Latin America (up 38%), Africa (up 37%) and Asia (up 28%).

A survey of buyers at the show also indicated that morale was on the rise, as was their purchasing power (27,000 euros on average, compared with 23,000 at the 2005 show) and length of stay (2.3 days versus 2.0 last year).