Expoóptica 2010: results
The twenty-eighth edition of the fair, Expoóptica 2010, which closed its doors last 14th March, brought together more than 9,200 visitors and almost one hundred exhibiting companies within an exhibition area measuring 5,000 square metres at Feria de Madrid.
In this respect, the International Optics and Optometry Exhibition, an event organised by IFEMA, brought together the leading companies from the industry, based on the presentation of their latest products. This event confirmed the fair's role as a key point of reference within the optics industry in Spain. Among other aspects, at this fair professionals were able to discover the latest equipment designed to facilitate diagnosis and treatment, as well as the latest trends under the heading of frames, the most attractive designs with regard to sunglasses for next spring/summer season and the latest advances in contact lens technology.
Over and above the favourable participation results, the fair also recorded high levels of satisfaction on the part of the leading players from the industry, based on the transactions they were able to carry out and the number of contacts they managed to establish. In this respect, Javier Sanchís, the Managing Director of Multiópticas, rated the company's results at the fair as "highly positive: "Many professionals with a strong business profile have shown interest in our group, which has enabled us to create a truly interesting data base of contacts," Sanchís added.
It was precisely this high profile of the participants at Expoóptica 2010 that constituted one of the most highly rated aspects by exhibitors. In this respect, Yves Gillet, the Managing Director of Essilor, has stated: "the attendance of professionals was very good, but, above all, I would say that the visitors we had were extremely interested in the new features on show and really were looking for new tools to use at their businesses".
Antoni Olivella, the Managing Director of INDO, shares this evaluation: "we placed our faith in the fair by taking part at Expoóptica, and, thanks to our clients, we achieved some highly satisfactory results with regard to all our business lines".
Alongside the business promotion and marketing dimension at Expoóptica, the activities that took place during the fair were also very warmly received, providing yet another point of interest for professionals: "the staging of the International Optometry, Contactology and Ophthalmic Optics Congress raised the scientific appeal of the event and contributed a strong dose of professionalism", stated Yves Gillet. The Congress organisers also believe the coincident staging of this meeting with regard to the fair was a great success: "Expoóptica 2010 was an event packed with modern appeal and quality, one that brought professionals and the industry closer together. We firmly believe that the new direction undertaken at the fair, alongside the staging of the Twenty-First International Optometry, Contactology and Ophthalmic Optics Congress, can only lead to success, which will provide a badly needed impetus for the industry in view of the current economic situation", stated Juan Carlos Martínez Moral, the Dean of the National College of Opticians-Optometrists.
The Executive Director of FEDAO, the body that organised the training section known as the Business Forum, agrees with this analysis: "Expoóptica constituted a pleasant surprise for the sector in terms of its modern image, volume of business and coinciding activities, such as the Business Forum, all of which point to an undoubtedly bright future for the fair."
This positive and dynamic climate in which the optics industry has taken on the challenges of the future is reflected, among other aspects, by the considerable degree of interest that the fair aroused among Spanish professionals. In this respect, all of Spain's different regions were represented among the visitors to Expoóptica 2010, especially professionals from Madrid, Andalusia and Catalonia. The visitors who attended the fair from these three regions came to almost 62% of the total number.
For their part, professionals from other regions, such as Castile-Leon and Castile-La Mancha, increased their levels of participation compared to previous editions of the fair.
The attendance of foreign visitors from some 26 countries on five continents consolidated the important stature that Expoóptica enjoys among the international fairs that relate to this industry. Out of the total number of foreign professionals at the fair, the largest number attended the event from Portugal, thus highlighting the importance of the fair as a key forum for Portuguese as well as Spanish professionals. After the Portuguese visitors, the largest numbers of professionals travelled to the fair from France, Germany and Italy.
In short, the results achieved at Expoóptica 2010 and the favourable opinions expressed by the participants confirm the fair's role as an indispensable meeting-point for all professionals from the optics industry, whilst also generating a strong sense of interest regarding future editions.
