A letter to Paris Retail Week

Grimbergen September 2018

Dear Paris Retail Week

This year was your fourth edition, and once again you did well and met my expectations. You can be proud to have welcomed so many visitors (34895 if I heard correctly) and exhibitors (I counted around 700 approximately). So again the numbers tell me you grow well, and congratulations on that.

Your offer was pretty diverse. I saw a few cool items, although it seems you had an explosion of holograms on the exhibition floor this year. Pay attention, it was a bit much to my taste. I particularly enjoyed discovering some of my compatriots like the light specialist Projection Eu and his apps to direct lights in a store. I also met up with Skalupwho showed me their work with AI-powered configurators and shopping assistants (quite interesting to see the applications and how selling technical products or services can be made easy by making questionnaire based solutions).

Your highlights were good too. I enjoyed my time spent on the Paris Retail Tour (check it out on http://20100retail.be/en/articles/407/on-a-store-tour-thanks-to-paris-retail-week). I also notice some nice innovative concepts, which received a Paris Retail Award. Although, I was not too impressed with the Viva Le Store area. I expected a bit more from it.

But my dear Paris Retail Week, indeed there is a « but ». Or maybe it is more of a question you need to answer for me. You reached a certain level, you tick all the boxes of the checklist and deliver what I and many other visitors and exhibitors expect from you. The organization is going smoothly, the offer is diverse etc. But I feel you have reached a certain ceiling and now need to decide: are you going to grow even bigger and become an unmissable international event or, are you going to stay at the top of the French retail experience with an international aura attracting neighboring countries? I wonder what is next.

There is no right or wrong answer. Your decision is just yours to make, and it will be in line with the strategy of your organizer I expect. Yet I wonder what it will be. I guess time will tell, and just know I will be curious, and watch what you will become.

Best regards

20/CENT

Your comments and questions are welcome via vincent@20CENTretail.comor via the form http://20100retail.be/en/contact

Check out the pictures of 20/CENT’s visit to the event on the Facebook @20CENTRetail: https://www.facebook.com/pg/20CENTRetail/photos/?tab=albums

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