Showcasing a range of extremely high quality products and services, the Salone del Mobile.Milano is yet again the must-see sectoral appointment with the very latest products and solutions, reaffirming Milan’s role as the capital of design. A great business opportunity that – last year alone – generated revenue worth 221 million euros.

This year is completely sold out yet again, with 207,000 m2 of net exhibition space and 2,310 exhibitors (30% of them foreign companies), 650 of them SaloneSatellite designers, reaffirming its position as the leading forum for ideas, creativity, innovation and technology for businesses, operators and visitors, showcasing the latest home living styles through advanced design trends.

President Roberto Snaidero had this to say: “The 55th edition will be a huge international draw, with 70% of the operators coming from over 160 countries and a wide range of top commercial offerings from the very best companies on the Italian and foreign markets, combined with culture and product culture through our collateral events. Internationalisation and innovation are the key drivers of this important edition. In particular, companies taking part in the Salone affirm that 63% of revenue is generated by exports, while 67% of them have made substantial investments in innovating machinery, equipment and software; research and development, especially within the companies themselves, and in the design of new products.”

“The Salone del Mobile is one of Italy’s most important appointments. A showcase of what the entire home furnishing chain has to offer international markets in terms of product quality and innovation”, said Deputy Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda. “This is why the Salone was immediately incorporated into the Italian Trade Agency ICE trade fair enhancement plan, and its contributions will continue into the future. The furniture sector is showing signs of recovery, with exports looking likely to rise by around 6% in 2015. There are positive signals from the domestic market too, thanks also in part to the government’s ongoing interest over the last few years. The latest stability law confirmed its commitments, with the renewal of the tax bonus for new furniture and extended benefits for young couples. As well as supporting domestic demand, the ministry and ICE have set up promotional plans to promote our top products abroad, thanks to funds made available under the Extraordinary Plan for Made in Italy.”

“The 55th edition of the Salone del Mobile occurs during a special year for our city. ‘Design after Design’, the International Exhibition of the Triennale di Milano, back after a twenty-year lull, will open just a few days earlier. This means that we are gearing up for an extraordinary Design Spring, with a combination of events in which we believe and which will bring Milan to the forefront of international attention yet again. The Salone del Mobile, along with the FuoriSalone, will enliven the streets and squares of the city, involving hundreds of thousands of fans, tourists, professionals and designers, making the week of the 12th to 17th April a great party for all”, said Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapia.

The fair will feature the Salone Internazionale del Mobile along with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, with more than 1,300 exhibitors ranged over more than 150,000 square metres, split into two categories, Classic and Design.

In recognition of a product category already largely established on the American markets, from East to Far East, we are launching the new xLux section in Pavilion 3, responding to increasing demand for a dedicated venue for this type of product, which was showcased inside the various pavilions up till the last edition. Many manufacturers, who started off with classical or design products, have embraced this new typology, which represents a synthesis of the two categories, consisting of linear products embellished with details, finishings and warmer, softer materials; there will be a strong presence of leading fashion brands, Borbonese, Fendi, Ferrè, Paul Mathieu, Roberto Cavalli, Ungaro and Versace, as well as prestigious global brands such as Aston Martin, Ritz, making its world debut, and Tonino Lamborghini.

2016, even years: this means that the biennial EuroCucina exhibition and its collateral event FTK (Technology For the Kitchen) are back – in Pavilions 9-11 and 13-15 – along with the International Bathroom Exhibition in Pavilions 22-24, responding to the rising demand for quality in both sectors.

EuroCucina – 120 exhibitors across 23,000 square metres – will present innovative high quality kitchen products, responding to the steady rise in demand for functionality from increasingly savvy consumers. Stainless steel and natural stone seem to have the edge in this edition. Technological innovation, energy efficiency, ease of use and aesthetic considerations characterise the goods on show at FTK (Technology For the Kitchen), the collateral exhibition dedicated to built-in electrical appliances and cooker hoods, with cutting edge technology devised for the “cookery” world and for bringing the innovative dimension of connectivity into the realm of the kitchen. 40 exhibitors over 12,000 square metres. The International Bathroom Exhibition – 200 exhibitors over 19,000 square metres – will showcase totally innovative solutions for personalising the domestic space increasingly dedicated to wellness and self-care.

The 19th edition of SaloneSatellite will be held in Pavilions 13-15, with free entry from Cargo 4. This year’s theme is “New Materials, New Design”. Participants chosen by a prestigious Selection Committee will be flanked by various international design schools. The SaloneSatellite Award, now into its 7th edition, is a further step towards facilitating interface between demand and supply, between entrepreneurs and designers, between creativity and production. This edition will see the designers present one or two projects that dovetail with the product categories at the biennial events accompanying the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, specifically in 2016, EuroCucina and the International Bathroom Exhibition.

Mixing business and culture is the Salone del Mobile.Milano mission. This year, within the ambit of the XXI Triennale International Exhibition, we will be holding the “Rooms. Novel Living Concepts” exhibition, curated by Beppe Finessi, at the Palazzo dell’Arte in Milan, from 2nd April to 12th September 2016. The exhibition is geared to underscoring the particular remit of interior architecture and providing a vision of home living projected towards the future.

The upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano also wants to pay particular homage to what came before “actual” design. The exhibition-event “Before Design: Classic” is a reflection on the classic soul of contemporary living and the short film by multi-award winning filmmaker Matteo Garrone – screened in Pavilion 15 F15/H18 – discusses classic Made in Italy taste and its currency in an audio and visual narration. Artistic Direction by Studio Ciarmoli Queda.

The city event linked directly to the Salone del Mobile.Milano will be “space&interiors” – organised by the international architecture, design and construction biennial MADE expo – at The Mall Porta Nuova – Brera Design District: a fascinating display of surfaces, flooring, doors and interior finishings curated Migliore+Servetto Architects.

The Salone del Mobile.Milano will carry on beyond the event itself with the Salone del Mobile.Milano Award. A prestigious jury will assign awards for specific categories, including: best designer, best young designer, best kitchen product, best furniture product, best bathroom product, best display and classic furniture. The award ceremony will be held on 4th May.

Lastly, a new communication campaign that pays homage to our cultural and artistic past, a cultural artistic retrieval that draws on the past but launches itself powerfully as an affirmation of identity, along with a verbally expressed elitist affirmation in which being becomes being there: “If you’re not there, you should be”, a sine qua non condition for belonging to a “community”. A new web platform (www.salonemilano.it) employing the most cutting edge web design and digital communication trends, with user, visitor and exhibitor experience as its focus, accompanies them along the way in a bid to maintain an ongoing relationship and dialogue – before, during and after the event – making navigation more interactive, engaging and multi-channel.

This 55th edition marks another step forward for the Salone del Mobile and another rebirth, an investment in creating through communication the Big Brand Feeling that will make this event into a contemporary icon. Thanks also to a partnership with the Italian – Trade Agency ICE – the 2016 promotional plan rests on bolstering investments geared to boosting professional foreign visitor numbers and setting up the best contacts for B2B meetings.