Building on the inaugural event last year, FESPA Africa 2015, took place from 22-24 July at the Gallagher Convention Centre where it welcomed over 5500 industry professionals. 46% of which were new visitors to the exhibition, who were able to scope the latest technology from a leading line-up of 125 exhibitors showcasing over 500 world class brands, and explore industry trends with a wide range of educational features, giving them free access to topics on product developments and business opportunities. Among the attendees were 3796 unique companies, a 9.8% increase from the 2014 event.
The exhibition attracted visitors from nearly 40 countries, with the top countries represented outside of South Africa being Nigeria, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. International visitors constituted 4% of total visitors. Visitor quality was also high with almost 70% of the audience from senior job positions and 85% of visitors involved in the decision-making process.
Graham Hawthorn, Director, Grosvenor Branding who visited the event highlighted: “This was a fantastic expo where I was able to do three months-worth of research in a day and half, and all the under one roof.” Another visitor, Mawande Nxumalo, agreed “It was a really amazing experience. I got all the information and knowledge I needed, and now I know which products to buy.”
Exhibitors were also very positive about the exhibition, with many reporting confirmed sales on the show floor, high-quality visitor traffic, and increased sales compared to the 2014 expo. Raymond Waldeck, Managing Director at Antalis South Africa said, “The quality of prospects was very good. Most of the visitors who engaged with us were serious buyers.” Greg Van Heesch from Digifab echoed this sentiment: “We were extremely happy with the event, we had a lot of good leads and we will be expanding our stand at the 2016 event.”
In addition to generating sales leads, exhibitors were selling equipment on the show floor: “We sold all the equipment that was exhibited at the show to clients within South Africa. It was a successful event all round; generating numerous new clients,” said Hans Vogt, Managing Director, Colorscreen. “FESPA Africa is the largest show in Sub-Saharan Africa and the main attraction on the African continent, which made the expo the ideal location to launch our new printers” commented Mike Horsten, General Marketing Manager EMEA, Mimaki. “Our wide range of high quality products have been accepted amazingly well and we’ve sold equipment off the show floor.” Gavin Peterson from Clear Solutions observed, “We are happy with the amount of visitors at this year’s event; which was very busy, and we had a lot of interest in our equipment.”
Event organisers Practical Publishing, Dyelan Copeland and Charnia Yapp were pleased with the feedback they gained during the show: “It was our second year at the Gallagher Convention Centre, exhibitor feedback and modest growth in visitor numbers has been a positive indication of the events success. Of course now, our aim is to analyse the show and set plans to continue improving the expo to deliver an even better event for the region next year. We are putting together a focused plan with our partners, FESPA, to attract more visitors from countries across Southern Africa.”
Neil Felton, CEO, FESPA, said, “The exhibition has been wonderful, there has been a real buzz in the aisles and on stands. Feedback from exhibitors has been extremely strong, with clients already generating more sales and leads at this edition. We always seek to improve our events, by listening to and understanding the market. As we move forward we plan to engage with more of the African continent and ensure that FESPA Africa becomes the home for the African wide format print community. Using FESPA’s profit-for-purpose philosophy, and our partner’s local knowledge, we will make the event a truly regional one which goes from strength to strength.’
FESPA President, Yasar Güvenen who attended FESPA Africa stated: ‘I was positively surprised with the major brands I saw at the event; exhibitors were happy with the number and quality of visitors. I would like to thank our partners, Practical Publishing, the team is highly motivated and very dynamic. Together, I am sure we will continue to deliver a great event here.’
The next FESPA Africa event will take place from 7-9 September 2016 in Johannesburg at Gallagher Convention Centre. For more information about FESPA Africa, visit www.fespaafrica.com
Forthcoming FESPA events include:
. FESPA China 2015, 21-23 October 2015, Shanghai New Int’l Expo Centre, Shanghai, China
. FESPA Global Summit 2015, 01-02 December 2015, Antwerp, Belgium
. FESPA Eurasia 2015, 10-13 December 2015, CNR Expo, Istanbul, Turkey
. FESPA Digital 2016, 08-11 March 2016, RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands
. FESPA Digital Textile Conference 2016, 08 March 2016, RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands
. European Sign Expo 2016, 08-11 March 2016, RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands
. Printeriors 2016, 08-11 March 2016, RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands
. FESPA Brasil 2016, 06-09 April 2016, Expo Center Norte, São Paulo, Brazil
. FESPA Africa 2016, 07-09 September 2016, Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa
