HOMI, Fiera Milano’s Lifestyles Trade Fair, ended its eleventh edition with over 80,000 operators from more than 90 different countries; affluence was principally from: Russia, Spain, Switzerland, China, France and Japan. The best performance was achieved by Russia with 605 operators present (+60%) and the USA which doubled the number of buyers at the show, reaching a figure of 240 presences; these were followed by Germany and Japan which recorded +40% and +20% compared to 2018, respectively; operators from Bahrain, Norway, Taiwan and Uzbekistan visited HOMI for the first time.

Owing to the high profile of buyers from across the globe, HOMI confirms its position as a genuine business platform that focuses on the quality of contacts made. The edition that just ended benefited from a more international atmosphere thanks also to the partnership with ICE (the Italian Trade Agency) which, like every year, supports the incoming buyer scheme that increasingly aims at satisfying the needs of the companies in attendance.

This edition was met with a great deal of dynamism, from all the industry players, a dynamic approach that is mirrored and embraced by the spirit of development of Milan: a city that has progressively grown in the last decade, to become an experimental workshop of ideas and international hub of opportunities and business.

As regards social media, figures show a rising interest in the event on the part of followers, who generated an engagement of 58,000 interactions during the four-day event

To confirm its innovative soul, capable of continuously heeding the needs of the market, HOMI is announcing a development that will start to take shape in September later this year. Indeed, this includes the launch of HOMI Fashion & Jewels, a six-monthly event dedicated to the world of costume jewellery and fashion accessories, and HOMI Outdoor, a yearly event with a specific focus on the outdoors combined with the home & decoration offering.

These two new formats will take place for the first time from 13th until 16th September 2019 whereas HOMI, the Lifestyles Trade Fair, will be packed into a single major edition starting in January 2020.