Venlo will have a permanent trade fair for everything in the field of living, decoration and hospitality. The former flower auction is being transformed into a meeting place for exhibitors and visitors, which is open 350 days a year.
The idea for this unique exhibition concept comes from Lex Ebus. Fifteen years ago, he successfully started a cash-and-carry concept opposite the flower auction. In other words, a complete purchasing center for florists and garden centers.
Old auction
What was still missing was a suitable place for a trade fair, until the old flower auction became available. Until the departure of FloraHolland to Herongen in Germany in 2010, the majority of the auction complex was used as a distribution center for Intratuin.
Not of this time
Ebus has long and broadly earned its spurs in the sector. As chairman of the Association of Wholesalers in Flower Nursery Products (VGB), the former nurseryman was the calling card of the floriculture sector in our country. Cash&Carry FloraZON attracts around 34,000 customers from 42 countries to Venlo. This gives Ebus confidence in the exhibition concept. In addition, the current trade fairs in the sector are no longer up-to-date, according to him.
“Consumers have of course become very fickle and actually want to see something different in the store every month. And those fairs are only available in the autumn and once in the spring. So that model is running out,” says Ebus.
180 companies
The hall where the flowers used to be displayed must be full of stands from September. About 140 companies from the home and decoration industry and 40 companies from the hospitality industry, such as hotels, restaurants and catering companies, have already registered. Wine merchant Marcel Swaghoven from Venlo, for example, has registered. He had to postpone his trips to winegrowers lately.
“I say that now: wait a minute, we will immediately create our own showroom in a very beautiful whole that benefits everyone and you can also create interaction. Where you can also create common ground and meet more people in the same place. it is less effort for you and you are actually much more involved in a larger whole,” says Swaghoven.
Exhibitors do not always have to be present themselves. Visitors can buy through an innovative app.
Other activities
It is also the intention to make other parts of the old flower auction available for temporary fairs and conferences. The authentic auction room will be rented out for events and lectures. According to Ebus, it is important to offer visitors something on all opening days, outside the permanent fair. That is why there will also be a catering area where the latest applications in that area will be shown.
To trust
The Daily Trade Fair is run by seven wholesale shareholders. They want the fair to grow into the largest in Europe within three years. According to Ebus, the concept is unique in Europe and beyond, especially in combination with hospitality. The former arborist is confident that it will succeed. “We are centrally located here, in the middle between four airports. We are here with an experience of living in the Ruhr area with 30 million people,” he says.