Marmomac: 135 countries took part in Veronafiere's first 100% online event

Promotion of natural stone within reach of a click. 4,975 operators linked up across the portal over the three days (60% international): representative coverage of markets and an effective link between supply and demand

Verona, Italy - Marmomac, even in its digital format, confirms its status as the international landmark for the global natural stone market. This clearly emerges from the statistics for Marmomac ReStart Digital Edition, the first 100% online event organised by Veronafiere that closed yesterday after three days.

The networking and training platform was set in motion after the attended exhibition was postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic. It hosted 4,975 networked users -all professionals in the sector -from 135 countries, including 200 top-buyers invited by Veronafiere and ICE-Italian Foreign Trade Commission.

210 companies took part with virtual stands, including 111 international firms from 22 countries. More than 3,100 products and 840 projects were uploaded to exhibitor profiles. The hit list for Marmomac ReStart Digital Edition traffic saw Italy take first place, followed by India, Brazil, the United States, Turkey, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany and China. A representative list of markets in line with current supplyand demand.

"We are very pleased with the result of this first entirely digital event," said Giovanni Mantovani,CEO of Veronafiere. Natural stone within reach of a click proved to be popular, especially among international visitors who accounted for a60% share, thereby validating the level of internationality already achieved by the physically attended trade fair. The global natural stone community responded well and this confirms the huge appeal of Marmomac. Even the digital version proved to be an effective matching tool, with an average score for the quality of b2b contacts of 4.5 out of 5."

The exhibition was also accompanied by a great deal of on-line content, with 158 live streaming events, including webinars, company presentations and Marmomac Academy refresher courses for architects and designers. All in all, 67 speakers took turns on-screen. The most popular market focus session involved Brazil; there was also significant interest for in-depth information about the United States and China.

The Stone Industry Education series targets stone fabrication industry professionals, including business owners, marketing experts and those eager to expand their businesses, connect with suppliers and glean invaluable 'best practices' for successful operations. The event is hosted by MSI.