Interview with Antonio Bruzzone, CEO, BolognaFiere Group

07 Nov Interview with Antonio Bruzzone, CEO, BolognaFiere Group

The trade fair and exhibition sector is a key driver of the Italian economy, with Emilia-Romagna playing a leading role thanks to its strong industrial base and export-oriented driven approach. How do you assess the current potential of the trade fair industry in Italy and in the wider region?

The trade fair sector actually encompasses several different activities. The term itself does not quite capture this variety. We organize exhibitions, manage fairgrounds, design and build stands, which is the architecture of trade shows. These are our three main divisions. The Bologna Exhibition Centre is the second largest in Italy. It hosts nearly 40 events a year. About 20 million companies participate in our events held in Bologna. It is always difficult to give an exact number of visitors because many attend multiple times. The same person may count once, twice or three times. In terms of entries, we have over 1.2 million people.The group as a whole generates a turnover of around €300 million, combining both the activities held in Bologna and those abroad.

The sector is undoubtedly strategic and a strong economic driver. However, in the coming years, it will undergo significant consolidation. Instead of every city having its own fair, we’ll likely see only a couple of major ones per country. Over the next decade, I expect a major concentration among just a few global players. For example, if I say I am going to visit a trade fair in the United States, it usually means Chicago, New York, Orlando, Las Vegas and perhaps one or two others. Maybe something is happening in Miami or San Francisco, however, there are five or six major fair hubs per continent. Our challenge is to remain a key player with a strong European presence and reach.

What role can BolognaFiere play in strengthening Italy’s position as a European and global hub for trade fairs?

BolognaFiere is currently among the top ten trade fair operators in Europe, alongside Milan and IEG. Our goal is to remain part of this leading group. I am fully aware that it will not be easy. The strength of our portfolio and the scale of our exhibition center are key factors. Our greatest advantage is Bologna’s strategic location with a major airport and a central position on both the high-speed rail and motorway networks. This gives us confidence that we can maintain our standing despite it being a significant challenge. In 2015-16, our turnover was around €105 million. Last year, we closed at €274 million and today we are at around €300 million, tripling our turnover since 2015–2016.

What are the main strategic priorities that will keep BolognaFiere competitive in the global trade fair market?

We are active players in managing events, developing our exhibition center and organizing stands. In terms of management of activities abroad, we work with our partner and with the Informa Group, which is the largest Anglo-American trade fair operator in the world. We developed the cosmetics sector outside Europe together with Cosmoprof Hong Kong, Cosmoprof Bangkok, Cosmoprof Mumbai, Cosmoprof Las Vegas and Cosmoprof Miami. In two weeks, we will be in New York for the opening of New York Beauty Week, which we organize with Informa New York.

Additionally, in the American market, we operate under the Beauty Premier brand, organizing Beauty Premier Orlando, Anaheim, Columbus and San Antonio. This represents a very close partnership with Informa in the cosmetics sector. We believe there is room for growth. Independently, we have also expanded into the wine sector, organizing events in Mexico City, Ho Chi Minh City and London Experience. In the private label sector, we organize fairs in Guangzhou, China and Poznan, Poland. Moreover, in Shanghai, we organize the Children’s Book Fair, which together with Bologna, is one of the two leading global events for children’s book publishing. This is an exclusively B2B event focused solely on rights trading. We have a very strong international focus. We maintain offices in the American, German, Chinese and Indian markets, and are consistently and significantly present.

As an Italian operator, we are unique in having such a strong international presence. Having Informa as a shareholder in the holding company and as a partner in these foreign markets where we operate in cosmetics gives us a tremendous platform on which to build our ability to understand better and serve these market sectors.

We are fortunate to have a company that is eager to work. There are no real secrets. The only “secret” is commitment, hard work and dedication. Moreover, the desire to always be a leading player in every sector in which we operate is important. We do everything that others do, but we do it with greater enthusiasm and determination.

You, as well as the company, have received international accolades and strengthened the group’s position under your guidance. What does this mean for BolognaFiere’s credibility and partnerships?

My international recognition stems from being at the head of BolognaFiere. Not because I am particularly charming, but because I have the fortune of representing a very important group with strong expansion capabilities. We take specific technological measures. We try to stay ahead of the market when possible. It is very difficult to do this in a meaningful way. The advances we can make in our sector are measured in months, because they are automatically copied. A technological barrier to entry is never too high.

We always try to stay focused on what we do. We also try to diversify as much as possible, in terms of industry sectors and countries. Within the exhibition center, we also handle catering and aim to deliver high-quality shows. We work to diversify both entertainment and sports offerings, capturing all the value that a large venue generates by hosting or organizing events. We strive to integrate our activities both horizontally and vertically.

In your opinion, what are the city’s competitive advantages?

Logistics is important. Of course, Bologna is also a beautiful city. However, there are many beautiful cities in Italy. Someone could say, ‘I will go to Florence or ‘I will go to Arezzo.’ Both are beautiful, but the real advantage of Bologna, however, is its logistical centrality, because the highways, high-speed rail and air transport all pass through Bologna. In some cases, it also hosts the country’s most outstanding features.

What is your vision for BolognaFiere over the next three to five years? How do you plan to combine innovation, sustainability and digital transformation with the company’s traditional strengths?

Over the next three to five years, our challenge is to consolidate our position as the leading Italian trade fair operator. This year we achieved that, with a margin of about 1 million. Of course, everyone will play their own game as MilanoFiere will do theirs. I believe Bologna can rightfully aim to be a significant player in the global market. How can we integrate new technologies? Technology is essential for our sector, but not yet the central focus. After all, a trade fair is a live event as people come and meet. We cannot forget all the preparatory work such as buyer selection and specifications, which happens beforehand. How do you achieve a complete transformation? Right now, no one really knows. These are important activities, but they are certainly not disruptive. We will see who can interpret it differently. As of now, even RX and Informa are working along the same lines as everyone else.

How do you use artificial intelligence to manage jobs; are these useful tools?

In the past, preparing a company presentation would take six hours. Now it takes twenty minutes. The business model has not changed, however, it has accelerated certain processes in our sector. Today, there is also robotics. Trade fairs have existed since the 1200s and obviously, every historical period brings its own evolution. In the past, everyone went to the Frankfurt fair where in the 1200s people came, as minstrel announced it in the squares. Later, newspapers were present. However, the core remains, bringing people together. With technological tools, we can stay connected with the entire community and even create digital moments that maintain engagement. These are all useful and important developments. Nevertheless, the traditional face-to-face meeting remains the core of our business.

Do you collaborate much with other trade shows?

Yes, within the scope of each event. For example, during Auto e Moto d’Epoca, dedicated to vintage motor vehicles, we work with Motor Valley to create a pavilion dedicated to the Motor Valley. In this pavilion, the major brands from the region are showcased. When it comes to agri-food events, we involve many small and medium-sized enterprises from Emilia-Romagna, particularly in specialized gastronomy. For other events that we organize or host, we always aim to highlight territorial excellence. Cersaie, the international exhibition for ceramic tiles, was recently held. This world-class event was made possible because Sassuolo hosts the largest ceramic production district in the world. The strong link between production districts and trade fairs has always been a hallmark of the Rhineland approach to enterprise.

If we look at the US market, the dynamic has been different: it originated more from the B2B publishing sector. Reed Exhibitions, for example, started as a publisher and later transformed magazines into trade shows — subscribers became visitors and advertisers became exhibitors. This represents the Anglo-Saxon model of trade fair development. In contrast, the European model of fairs is rooted in industrial districts. The Furniture Show in Milan did not start there by chance. It was held in Milan because of the furniture district in Brianza. Many carpenters needed a fair to exhibit their furniture. Over time, design, fashion and style also developed in that same area due to this concentration of production. Cersaie reflects the same logic. Agricultural machinery fairs like EIMA originated in Bologna because manufacturing is concentrated along the Via Emilia.

Today, we aim to combine the historical strength of these production districts with the Anglo-Saxon ability to build and connect communities digitally and in person. We strive to hybridize these two approaches.

What would be your final message to USA Today readers?

I would like them to consider Bologna as a major trade fair hub, where they can develop excellent business relations between Italy and the US. This is one of the strengths of our trade fair activities. We are very active at events with our own exhibitions and work closely with American organizers. We have opened a new office. As a stand construction company in the American market, we operate as an American company and have an office in Manhattan. We also have two large warehouses in Atlanta and another in New Jersey with two smaller warehouses in Chicago and Las Vegas. We have two companies in the US: one as a partner with Informa in the cosmetics sector and another, wholly owned by us, which handles stand construction. Although we focus primarily on trade fairs, our work is not exclusive. We generate around $15 million in stand construction in the US. The American market is strategically very important for us. The relationship between BolognaFiere and the United States is central to our growth strategy.