Biënnale Interieur 2012 [ 6 ] - Decostyle

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B-DECOoh! Open Door Days
Renewed, festive total concept
Don’t be alarmed when you no longer find DECOoh! in the fair’s calendar at the back of this
Decostyle. This professional fair for indoor and outdoor decoration is experiencing a total
re-launch this year and is even getting a new name. Get acquainted with the B-DECOoh! Open
Door Days, which takes place from 2 to 4 September in the expo halls at the Heizel in Brussels.
“Over the last couple of years, we
noticed that visitor numbers kept
going down”, admits Anabel Casimiro
of organizing Brussels Fairs and
Exhibitions. “A major renewal was
necessary or the continued existence
of the fair would be in danger. Now
we are going back to the essence:
actual trends, innovative design and
products that do well commercially.”
DECOoh! new style is a compact fair,
which is held in one single hall (hall 5)
of the Brussels Heizel. Here you will
not find the traditional fair booths, but
contemporary modular boxes. “The
atmosphere to surround DECOoh!
is that of an open day, albeit of 150
companies at the same time. The
visitors will receive a welcoming drink
when they enter and can have their
photograph taken in one of the many
themes rooms that are decorated by
the exhibitors themselves. Even more
than a fair, DECOoh! will become an
event, a festive total concept.”
Emphasis on exclusivity
“A major problem of the fair was
that, at least according to us, too
little exclusiveness was to be found”,
remembers Anabel Casimiro. “This
made people judge it was not worth
travelling to Brussels for. There was
too much emphasis on the sales
part, but this we have now remedied.
For instance: all of the visitors will
receive a cheque book, in which
every exhibitor highlights a product
and offers this at an advantageous
price. Additional price reductions will
be advertised throughout the fair,
in a straightforward way. That way,
visitors of DECOoh! will find special
items and offers that cannot be found
elsewhere.”
The enthusiasm of the exhibitors
proves that the renewed concept of
DECOoh! Open Door Days is a hit. Two
months before the fair, more than 110
exhibitors had already confirmed their
presence. “Among those are a lot of
familiar names, but there are also new
participants who believe in the innovative
path that DECOoh! has now taken.”
Digital platform
The centre of DECOoh! will be the
Patio, the space of the fair that is
1 2
reserved for events. Anabel Casimiro:
“This is an ideal location for networking
and establishing contacts. There
will also be flower demonstrations and
other events. The link with the ‘exhibition
hall’ will never be far away.”
Together with B-DECOoh! Open Door
Days, Brussels Fair and Exhibitions
also launches a new digital platform.
‘B-DECOoh! Objects’ becomes a site
that links manufacturers and professional
buyers all year round. “What
makes this website so interesting
is that people who are interested
no longer have to search via the
manufacturer, but via the product
itself. Someone who is looking for,
let’s say, a red vase, just enters ‘red
vase’ and gets an overview of all of
the red vases that can be found at the
fair. Frome there he can click on to the
manufacturer of his favourite vase.”
B-DECOoh! Open Door Days takes
place from 2 to 4 December in hall 5
of the exhibition halls at the Heizel in
Brussels and can only be visited on
invitation, by professionals in indoor
and outdoor decoration. More information
on www.bdecooh.eu. �
1-2 All images: B-DECOoh!