IBITA – INTERVIEW TO MR ENRICO ZANNINI – General Manager, BolognaFiere Cosmoprof SpA

JTnews interviewed Mr. Enrico Zannini, the General manager of BolognaFiere Cosmoprof Bologna, the world’s best beauty exhibition, in person on March 24.

We conducted an in-depth interview on how to solve the difficulties of beauty companies due to the spread of Covid19 with the General manager of the world’s largest exhibition in the 53rd edition Cosmoprof Bologna.

He expected new opportunities and hopes for global companies with the potential to continue to grow with IBITA, a Korean marketing partner.

JTnews will hold relay interviews with world exhibition organizers after him to discuss future strategies of the exhibition business.

1.The biggest topic of conversation for the global economy will be “Regiliance.” Then how do you think the exhibition participants should deal with it to succeed?

The beauty industry has immediately reacted to the international emergency, focusing on what we can do at our best: research and innovate. Even the latest reports presented by McKinsey & Company confirmed that the cosmetics industry reacted better than fashion. Beauty is expected to return to – and even surpass – 2019 levels in 2021, while fashion is expected to normality only in 2022. As evidence, our companies never stopped their activities: immediately after the pandemic starts, most of our exhibitors transformed their supply chains and changed their distribution strategies. Some segments registered good performances – skincare, personal care and hygiene, hair care, and nail. During these months, the cosmetics industry was still able to maintain its investments in research and development of new products and technological tools, adapting their production to recent trends and values and meeting the new habits of their customers. To be ready to restart after the pandemic, it is crucial to stay focused on the dialogue with consumers and on new trends.

2.Please briefly explain the current situation in Europe and Italy.

Europe is recovering more slowly than others, such as Asia-Pacific or the US, for example. According to McKinsey & Company report, European beauty sales are not expected to return to 2019 values until the first half of 2022 at the earliest, while China and the US register correspondently 8 to 10% and 3 to 4% annual growth forecasts between 2019 and 2021. Difficulties in vaccination campaigns in all members of the European Union are also heavily impacting the economic scenario. Anyway, Europe is still a leading international player, and the quality and high standards of its companies will surely help recover soon. Italy will play a vital role in this restart: currently, we are still facing a lockdown in most of our regions, but an acceleration of the vaccination campaign has been announced, and this will help our economy to recovery soon.

3. How much do you think European customers have expectations for the effectiveness from Korean cosmetics?

K-beauty is a fundamental trend for the global cosmetics industry. In Europe, k-beauty trends have radically transformed the offer for products, devices, and trends, thanks to brand-new innovations, materials, and tools. The use of natural and harsh-free ingredients and practical at-home treatment to improve skin health have changed customer’s attitudes towards self-care. K-beauty brands are strongly recognized for their efficacy and avant-garde approach, and there are great expectations on new proposals coming from Korean companies. Further to that, the increasing digitalization and the growth of e-commerce will still bring new opportunities for local brands to export their collections abroad.

4. Based on the answer number 3, what strategies do you think participants should pursue?

Korean brands should keep focusing on their primary values, making k-beauty a highly recognizable brand: sustainable approach, innovation, and effectiveness. Korean companies should push on research and marketability for their products, thus adapting to international consumers’ needs. Today, the central concept for brands is “glocalization”: starting from their community and culture, companies have to adjust their collections to global users in terms of product customization, export strategies, and communication strategy.

5. When did you realize that the ban on events caused by Corona will have a big impact on the exhibition, so there will be big difficulties for a long time? And what steps are being taken to solve this problem?

On February 24, 2020, we were forced to postpone Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna for the first time, but we still hoped that the situation would have been solved in a short time. Unfortunately, it was not so: we tried several times to reschedule the event, but travel restrictions and distancing policies did not allow us to work on the organization. In these months, we have been monitoring the situation in Italy and abroad. In the meantime, we organized two digital events, WeCosmoprof, to support the cosmetics industry in these difficult times. We adapted our match-making software so to ensure business and networking through virtual meetings and live chats. We helped stakeholders to restore relationships with their partners and to discover new opportunities. A new edition will be held in June 7-18, with the participation of all the Cosmoprof events in the world: more details are available on our website www.wecosmoprof.com

6. How is the communication between the participants affected by the postponement of the exhibition and organizations? What’s their reaction?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, our exhibitors and attendees have accepted our decisions. There is a trust in Cosmoprof, thanks to its prestigious history and growth in all the main markets. Both companies and operators are aware of how difficult it is to deal with the actual uncertainty. I am sure they will appreciate once again our commitment to guarantee their business, as well as their safety.

7. What has changed and what has happened despite the careful plan so far? What kind of measures do you have for agents from all over the world?

We are working with the Italian Trade Agency, its offices abroad, and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to define agreements with international institutions for safe trips to Bologna. We are in contact with the Municipality of Bologna to be ready with accommodation and transport services once we will inaugurate our next edition. We are implementing digital services to help all stakeholders prepare their visit to Cosmoprof and arrange their meetings in advance. To sum up, we are working hard to be ready to welcome our global community soon and restart all together at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna.