Hasta La Ideas

Co-founder of Danish brand Hay Rolf Hay has criticised trade fairs and the temporary stands that brands use to display products.

Speaking on the first day of 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, which doesn’t include a main trade fair, Hay described the shows as “completely irresponsible” and said they are “not the way forward”.

Trade fairs “not the way forward”

“Trade shows are a completely irresponsible way of showing by putting so much money, energy and materials into a display that is there for four or five days,” Rolf Hay told Dezeen. “It’s not the way forward and I think everyone can see that.”

“So the building of something like 3 Days of Design is mainly done in permanent showrooms around the city, and they will all remain beyond this week,” he continued. “So it’s definitely a more healthy way of showing.”

With no main trade fair, 3 Days of Design, which is now celebrating its 10th year, mostly takes place in showrooms located in close proximity to each other across the Danish capital.

Rolf Hay was speaking from the company’s central Copenhagen showroom Hay House, where they are launching several new products including the Boa Table by Stefan Diez constructed from a recycled extruded tubular frame made from recycled aluminium, the Arcs mirrors and drinks trolleys by Muller van Severen, and the Weekday collection of benches by Hannes & Fritz, during the festival.

“There are more powerful ways to launch products than at trade shows”

Rolf Hay went on to questioned the purpose of trade fairs and suggested that digital launches may provide more impact and better value for money.

“If you go back 10 years, the main purpose of a trade fair was to launch new products but this is actually not the case anymore because there are more powerful ways to launch products than at trade shows,” he said.

“What we learned from Covid is that if you skip a trade show, companies have the opportunity to put more money into digital,” he continued. And in some cases it gives a better pay off: some products are better for a digital online launch than a real presentation because you gain more traffic online than you do on a trade show.”

He believes that the approach taken by 3 Days of Design is more aligned with the brand’s customers.

“This event is getting stronger and stronger and also more international,” said Rolf Hay. “For us, Hay is here every day so it’s basically about opening our doors. There’s no doubt that what 3 Days of Design is offering is maybe more aligned with the interests of our customers.”

Milan “mainly a European trade show”

Hay choose not to exhibit at Milan design week this year. Rolf Hay explained that this decision was due to his view that the fair was focused on the European market.

“[Last year,] it was very clear that there was very little participation from Asia and North America, so it was mainly a European trade show,” said Rolf Hay. “Due to that, we decided that we didn’t want to be in Milan this year.”

“The fair can be right for some companies,” he continued. “But you can also see the tendency is that the big companies are pulling out of the fair and remaining in the city because the community part is stronger. But it’s also more expensive.”

However, he said that he could see returning to Milan in future years, but it would aim to exhibit within the city rather than in the Salone del Mobile trade show.

“This year, I actually felt for the first time that Milan was getting back in shape,” he said. “Afterwards, my wife and I thought that maybe it was a mistake to have missed it,” referring to Mette Hay, co-founder of the brand.

“It could make sense for us to return to Milan next year but never at the fair. Never ever at the fair. It will 100 per cent be in the city. We’re looking for the cultural interaction,” he added.

3 Days of Design takes place from 7 June to 9 June 2023. Follow the live coverage on Dezeen live: 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen. See Dezeen Events Guide for information about the event, plus a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post “Trade fairs are a completely irresponsible way of showing” says Rolf Hay at 3 Days of Design appeared first on Dezeen.