UBIFRANCE UK News

UBIFRANCE UK News n° 16 - 20 April 2009

The first quarter of 2009 will have been busy, here at the press bureau of the French Trade Commission in London, despite the expectation, on the part of many, that the general slow-down in the European (and British) economy and the financial crisis were bound to affect the level of activity across the board.

Certain sectors appear to be very badly affected (real estate is a case in point, for obvious reasons), while others seem to be weathering the storm much better (companies that offer cost-cutting management solutions based on adapted software packages, for instance). Also, here at the press bureau, we deal with a lot of public-sector and institutional entities (such as regional development agencies and chambers of commerce and industry, in France), which are maintaining their business-development and promotional plans for the current year. Clearly, the concern remains that the second half of 2009 may turn out to be particularly weak, although there may still be surprises here too.

Now that the press bureau is a fully fledged department of Mission Economique UBIFRANCE, the French Trade Commission in the UK, a lot of our actions come in support of B-to-B and other events organised by our colleagues in the other departments of the Trade Commission.

On 3 March, a successful French Design Forum was organised at the Chelsea Design Centre (in London) and several journalists came along and attended the event, which showcased the work of French interior and furniture designers.

On 11 March, producers of vintage Bordeaux wine of the Cercle Rive Droite gathered at Le Cercle, the prestigious and upmarket London restaurant, in order to present the 2008 vintage. The event attracted many journalists, including celebrity wine writer Oz Clarke.

Incidentally, and for all of you wine buffs out there, reports that 2008 is set to be a bad year for Bordeaux wine would appear to be misguided: contrary to all initial expectations — given the terrible weather conditions the Bordeaux region suffered in the summer of last year — the late ’08 harvest turned out to be a success and most wine-growers now expect the 2008 vintage not to disappoint the connoisseurs.

The French Trade Commission also helps promote French companies that take part in trade shows in the UK. There was an interesting French Pavilion at the Ecobuild trade show (3 to 5 March) dedicated to environmentally friendly construction technology, and another one at the Railtex trade show devoted to rail transport and technology: on both occasions, we issued press releases and journalists working for specialist titles turned up to see for themselves what French players had to offer. (Not talking about rugby, here.)

In another field, I can confirm that the press trip organised by the regional trade body known as APHO (Association pour la Promotion de l’Habillement de l’Ouest) went very well. Kate Ambler, press officer, accompanied two British journalists working for specialist design and fashion websites, and they were delighted to be able to visit the production facilities where so many of those marvellous haute-couture dresses are made — in small factories tucked away in the middle of the countryside, near Nantes and Cholet.

At this point, I must quote your colleague, Jenni Sutton (Fashion Capital website, “French fashion industry revealed”): “On Sunday I flew into a wonderfully sunny Nantes in Western France. […] We were then all driven by our chauffeur to the delightful seaside town of Saint-Hilaire-de-Reiz. The town offers 12 kilometres of fine sandy beaches surrounded by dunes and, as we arrived, the sun was about to set, so all in all it could not have been a more perfect start!”

According to Kate, the chauffeur in question (name, Laurent), rather more used to driving OAPs about, was well chuffed to have four young women — three of them British — in the back of his people-carrier. (The two journalists and Kate were accompanied by Ms Charline Fuzeau of APHO.) Laurent duly pronounced the press trip his best-ever motorized mission! I must add that J Sutton and her colleague thought that the hotel in Saint-Hilaire-de-Reiz was simply superb: I can only quote them, not having had the privilege to stay (and eat) there myself, but Kate confirms it was indeed the case.

We have another press trip on the cards, in the aerospace/electronics sector, which will take three British journalists over to Brittany for a few days (12 to 14 May), so do get in touch with Kate if you are interested. Many of the companies on the list will have stands at the Paris Le Bourget Air Show.

Meanwhile, we are continuing with our promotion of all things Corsican — after food products and chestnut-flavoured Pietra beer (at the IFE trade show in London, in mid-March), it will be Corsican wines at a B-to-B promotional event (with wine tasting) in mid-May organised for CIVC, the trade association for the promotion of Corsican wine. Kate will be delighted to hear from you if you write about wine and would like to attend the event, so that you may discover the little-known gems that Corsica’s truly unique wines constitute.

The next issue of UBIFRANCE UK News will be sent to you round mid-June and, till then, the team of the press bureau wishes you all the very best.

Philip Jolly

Manager — Press Office

Mission Economique UBIFRANCE, the French Trade Commission in London

Design & Education

Food & Drink

IT & Telecoms

Manufacturing & the Environment

Medical & Cosmetics

Transport & Logistics

Design & Education

French Fashion Day to celebrate contract expertise in London on 22 April

The French Trade Commission, in partnership with the Association for the Promotion of Clothing Manufacturers in the West of France (APHO), will hold a French Fashion Day in London on 22 April. The event will showcase the expertise of 15 French contract clothing manufacturers.