VALENCIA, SPAIN -- Cevisama is going full speed ahead in the final stretch of preparations for the upcoming edition of the fair, which takes place from February 24 to 28, 2025 at Feria Valencia in Valencia, Spain. One of the most successful initiatives is the Buyer Recruitment Plan, designed to attract both Spanish and international buyers to visit the fair. Set in motion last summer, and with about two months still to go to the fair’s opening day, the plan has already received confirmations of attendance from more than 700 businesses and professionals with significant purchasing power.

Between them, the Spanish and International Cevisama 2025 Buyers Plans have a budget of more than a million euros, granted by the Generalitat Valenciana, through IVACE + i Internacionales, and by Feria Valencia itself. Cevisama exhibitors have also been involved in the plan this year, inviting their main customers directly as guests, their expenses paid by the plan. The move has created two forms of promotion surrounding the event, with companies boosting their commercial image on the one hand and the fair establishing a “pool” of top-level buyers on the other, making Cevisama even more attractive.

Currently, 639 foreign and 105 Spanish professionals have accepted the VIP invitation sent out by Cevisama’s organizers and exhibitors. This number is sure to rise over the following weeks as more confirmations are received. Nonetheless, some notable variables are already emerging that indicate the level of interest in the fair being generated in the main markets for ceramic tiles and bathrooms.  

The U.S. heads the “ranking” of international markets accepting the plan’s invitations this year, accounting for almost 20% of all acceptances, in line with that market’s positive position at the   head of the league table of export markets for Spain’s ceramic tiles during the period of January to October 2024. Sales to the U.S. were valued at 388 million euros during that period, equating to growth of 1.2%, according to official statistics published by ICEX.

Next in line are European Union markets such as France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Portugal, whose professionals and buying groups have responded positively to the invitation sent out by Cevisama’s organizers and exhibitors. These markets are viewed as local and are certainly the main export destinations for the bathroom sector. 

Areas such as the Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates, and countries like Morocco, Mexico and Colombia, are notable among the main markets providing guest buyers. 

Cevisama’s International Buyer Recruitment Plan targeted a total database of 4,800, which included both names provided by exhibitors and buyers included in Cevisama’s historical records, with priority being given to exhibitors’ key markets.
 The campaign also targeted business communities such as European retailers and wholesalers, with guidance from UFEMAT, and British professionals thanks to assistance from Tile Association UK. The initiative, coordinated once again with the ICEX office in Germany, also played an important part in recruiting the German market’s purchasing power.

The various initiatives have already delivered especially significant results for Cevisama 2025, such as British architects Grimshaw’s acceptance to visit the fair. Based in London, Grimshaw is one of the pioneers of high-tech architecture and was recently awarded the prestigious Sterling Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for the Elizabeth line, the newest addition to London’s underground network. 

As part of the dedicated Spanish Buyer Recruitment Plan, Cevisama sent invitations to relevant trade groups such as specifiers, particularly to Spanish firms of architects, property developers and businesses specializing in fitting out communal facilities based all over Spain, but with a certain focus on areas such as Madrid, Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarra and the Costa del Sol. 

The campaign targeting Spain’s major retailers and large multiple retailers of construction materials has also been given a boost, supported by organizations including ANDIMAC, ANERR, the Colegio Superior de Decoradores y Diseñadores de Interior, the Colegio de Arquitectos and DPA Forum.