Last weekend the SILMO in Paris for the first time took place at its new location at Paris Nord Villepinte. With a strike on Thursday and maintenance work on the railway resulting in trains which could not reach the location on Saturday and Sunday, the organization experienced quite some bad luck. Nevertheless the fair attracted a lot of people although especially the French themselves seemed to show up less as in years before. The ambiance at the fair was a bit dull. Probably the visitors bought well but the overall experience wasn´t very good. Many serious faces and few things to laugh. Maybe caused by the aftermath of the crisis or the absence of the large Italian companies but it looked as if the champagne had been replaced by water and non-alcoholic drinks. The fair offered far too few places to relax and socialize and focused way too much on sales and purchasing. When SILMO wants to compete with MIDO and remains a major international fair it will have to invest in excitement and experience. Time will show if the fair succeeds to do so.
