Antonio Bruzzone, Managing Director of Bologna Fiere

Premium Beauty News - Cosmoprof Asia has just closed its doors. Are you satisfied with the outcome?

Antonio Bruzzone - We have every reason to be! The 2018 edition of Cosmoprof Asia was the largest in its 23-year history. It brought together 3,030 exhibitors from 53 countries and regions, over a 113,800 sqm exhibition area. And we had more than 87,000 industry professionals attending the four-day show.

Premium Beauty News - Your partner in Asia has changed hands with the Informa Group acquiring it to the UBM Group.

Antonio Bruzzone - That’s right and we are very happy with this new partnership with the Informa Group, which can only strengthen our presence in Asia, because if we look at our respective footholds across the world, we are actually very complementary.

Premium Beauty News - An opportunity also to announce your come back to Brazil!

Antonio Bruzzone - Absolutely! An agreement was reached between BolognaFiere Cosmoprof, the organizer of the Cosmoprof events in the world, and Beauty Fair - Feira Internacional de Beleza Profissional, the organizer of the event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, dedicated to local cosmetic professionals and distributors.

Beauty Fair is the reference event for the beauty sector not only for Brazil, but also for the entire South American continent. Founded in 2005, the event involves professionals and distributors in the South American markets. More than 500 companies are present, with more than 2,000 brands represented over an exhibition area of 80,000 sqm. In 2017, 165,000 visitors had made the trip to São Paulo to discover or get an update on the main local brands, and the latest trends. A rich programme of conferences, with over 100 scheduled seminars, allowed attendees to focus on the main issues concerning the South American market.

The synergy between the two events will be an opportunity, at Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna 2019, (scheduled from March 14), to open a pavilion dedicated to Brazil, thus facilitating the visibility of buyers, distributors and retailers from South America. At Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, selected key players from Brazil and neighbouring countries will be able to meet the main players in the global cosmetics industry, to evaluate the new products and services serving their local markets.

In September, for the 2019 edition of Beauty Fair, the collaboration with BolognaFiere Cosmoprof will facilitate the presence at the event of international companies that already attend the main events of the international platform. Cosmoprof is making its mark as a choice partner supporting leading companies in the development of their business processes in a strategic market like Brazil: a gateway to South America and a country that is undergoing major social and economic changes.

Premium Beauty News - There is clearly acceleration in your international development! Do you plan establishing Cosmoprof in other parts of the world in the coming months?

Antonio Bruzzone - We have brought the Cosmoprof format in every corner of the world. In addition to Cosmoprof events in Bologna, Las Vegas, Mumbai and Hong Kong (with Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, Cosmoprof North America, Cosmoprof India Preview and Cosmoprof Asia), the Group is involved as an international sales agent in special events dedicated to the beauty sector in strategic markets: Belleza y Salud, in Colombia, in Bogotá, and from 2018 in Southeast Asia with BeautyExpo (Malaysia), AseanBeauty (Thailand), PhilBeauty (Philippines) and VietBeauty (Vietnam).

Concerning other possible spots, we will assess them as and when opportunities arise. Each development requiring a thorough study.

Again in the field of acquisitions, you know that we announced some months ago the purchase of the German Group Health & Beauty. Thanks to this acquisition, BolognaFiere Cosmoprof and Health & Beauty are working on strengthen their influence worldwide, combining the global know-how of the Cosmoprof network, which brings news and trends to the world, to the widespread distribution of Health & Beauty in Europe, both through the initiatives of the "Beauty Forum" exhibition format, and in terms of communication with the support of professional magazines.

The new alliance will be aimed at developing the business of players in the central European cosmetic markets, thus increasing growth opportunities for more than 500,000 professional operators and 9,000 exhibitors participating in the events offered by the two platforms.