The prestigious biannual Parisian “Maison et Objet” show will be attended between 22 and 26 January 2010 by twenty important Italian firms, assisted by the Italian Trade Commission. The event has become unmissable for international sector players, and includes stands dedicated to home furnishings and artistic crafts, gifts and textiles, accessories and interior décor.

“Maison et Objet” will therefore be an occasion to showcase sectors which exemplify the Made in Italy brand, such as the textiles industry, which is present in all regions of Italy, and especially in certain areas of international fame such as Biella, Carpi, Castel Goffredo, Como, Prato, and Vicenza.

Another important sector present in the Italian group in Paris will be artistic crafts: representing trades from the long tradition of master glassblowers in Murano and Tuscany to the goldsmiths of Valenza, Vicenza and Macerata.

The wooden furnishings industry of Treviso, Como and Milan, which together are responsible for approximately 32% of sector exports, will also be present at the fair.

The Parisian show, to be held at the Villepinte exhibition park, has been one of the most important promotional events for the sector ever since its first biannual edition in 1995. The event is known as an important showcase, with the additional advantage of being organised in France, which has historically been one of Italy's main outlet markets.

Just to get an idea, French imports from Italy in the home furnishings and crafts sector rose by more than 13% in 2008 from 2007, and Italy remains France’s second largest supplier after China. Although the Asian country is particularly competitive in the ceramics sector (ceramics arrive in France at a price of 1.25 Euros per kilo, in comparison with 4.64 Euros a kilo from Italy), Italian products have higher quality design and materials, capable of satisfying more sophisticated demand.

The last edition of the “Maison et Objet” trade fair, held as usual in Paris last September, was held in a 130,000m² exhibition space and recorded almost 72 thousand visitors (-0,7% from the previous edition in 2008). French visitors rose by 0.6% to well over 50 thousand, while international visitors fell by 2.6%, representing 39% of overall attendance. Italy maintains first position for visitors from a foreign country (+12.97% at the last edition), followed by Belgium (+6.57%), Germany (+10.26%) and Great Britain (+7.86%).