MACEF, INTERNATIONAL HOME SHOW

Macef – the International Home Show is one of Europe’s largest and most attractive trade shows about the domestic landscape. Held in Milan, Italy, twice a year (in January and September), it features 5,000 companies exhibiting on over 250,000 net square meters of display area and as many as 170,000 professional visitors (90,000 in January and 80,000 in September).
Macef’s key sectors include Kitchenware & Tableware, Home Decoration, Gifts, Design, Classic Furnishings and Ethnic Items, with a significant number of importers from Eastern countries. Featuring 200 exhibitors on 16,000 net square meters of display space, the Festivity area – devoted to Christmas and other festivities to be celebrated at home or elsewhere - plays a crucial role in the January edition. Manufacturers of personal ornaments, including gold and silver items, genuine and costume jewels and fashion accessories, account for a large portion of total exhibitors.


"Made in Italy" as a brand
Products designed and/or manufactured in Italy have been successful all over the world for many years now. That is why the term “made in Italy” has become a brand in its own right. There are basically two reasons for that:

– Unique products – The modern Italian industry has its roots in a very ancient arts & crafts tradition that goes back to the Middle Ages in some cases. Hand-making techniques are obviously more accurate than industrial ones and therefore add more value to a product. Passed on from one generation to the next, they take up new technical solutions and long-proven processes along the way. Even in cases where hand-making has been replaced by modern industrial processes, some crucial steps such as decorating, enameling, stitching and finishing are still done by hand, thereby making each single piece one of a kind.

– Unique manufacturing sites – The Italian industry specializes by area, which means that some specific areas in the country focus almost exclusively on the manufacturing of one local specialy product. World-famous examples of that are glass from Murano, ceramics from Faenza, chairs from Udine and furniture from Brianza. These areas, called “districts”, feature a very high number of very small competing enterprises who nevertheless manage to be synergic with one another. Their manufacturing tecniques progress in parallel and innovation in one area quickly spreads to the others. This process is the key to Italian design excellence, which is known and recognized all over the world.


Milan's new exhibition center
Milan is Italy’s economic capital city. Located right in the middle of the most affluent and densely populated Italian region, it has always been Italy’s main business center. This where the Italian Stock Exchange as well as all major banks and business/service institutions have their headquarters. Milan is also Italy’s key trade show city – even more so since 2006, when the most modern exhibition center in Europe was officially opened here. The exhibition center and the ensuing business tourism have turned Milan into Italy’s second largest tourist city after Rome. Luxury hotels, elegant clubs and theaters (including La Scala, possibly the most famous opera house in the world), the high fashion streets, period buildings located in a small but at times spectacular urban context make a stay in Milan an unforgettable experience.