Silmo president Amélie Morel, a fourth-generation member of well-known, family-owned French eyewear company, Morel, and long-standing Silmo director Eric Lenoir welcomed representatives from the international media to the 2019 Silmo fair.
This year, Silmo attracted 970 exhibitors and 35,888 visitors. This was a 2.5% rise on last year, with 56% from overseas and 44% from France.
“Everybody is here to do business, but hopefully also for pleasure,” said Lenoir, highlighting this year’s more relaxed additions, including the new champagne bars and Silmo retro gaming area.
Silmo’s international family
Lenoir also talked about the growing Silmo family. The 52-year-old flagship Paris-based event now has two, albeit far smaller, annual regional events bearing its name in Istanbul and Bangkok. Conspicuous by its absence was Silmo Sydney, which didn’t rate a mention, confirming the end of Silmo’s relatively short-lived support for an Australasian event rivalling the biennial Optical Distributors and Wholesalers of Australia (ODMA), now O=Mega, conference and fair.
