INNOV'events: the French Event-Agency Success Story Now Setting Its Sights on Europe
From a Single Office to a Nationwide Web
Founded in 2010 in Mulhouse, eastern France, INNOV'events has climbed in just over a decade to become the country's leading corporate event-agency network. The brand now unites 40+ locations—from Lille to Marseille, via Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and Strasbourg—delivering more than ****0 B2B events every year.
Its secret sauce is a deliberately 'glocal' franchise model: each branch is run by a local entrepreneur who taps into a national back-office—procurement, ESG, creative studios—guaranteeing buying power and consistent quality.
Brussels and Barcelona: First Bridgeheads Abroad
In 2023 and 2024 INNOV'events crossed its first borders. The Brussels office already stages European-scale conventions for institutions and fintech scale-ups, while Barcelona bets on universities, the 22@ start-up hub and Fira Gran Via tech expos to build its client base. Together, the two pilot markets generated almost ****million in revenue in their inaugural years.
An Export-Ready BlueprintThe Alsace head office remains lean—just a dozen staff—but relies on an established network of scenographers, XR studios and 'locavore' caterers. Local agencies replicate the method: sourcing off-beat venues, crafting story-driven scenography, and handing clients turnkey ESG reports (carbon footprint, responsible purchasing).
Europe Firmly in the Crosshairs
With an average Google rating of 4.8/5 and a client repeat-rate of 82 %, INNOV'events has set an ambitious course: ten new European offices by end-2027. Target countries: United Kingdom – London
Spain – Madrid, Seville
Germany – Munich, Frankfurt
Netherlands – Amsterdam
Italy – Milan, Rome
Portugal – Lisbon, Porto
' Whether you need a team-building in Lyon or a convention in Lisbon, companies want a partner who delivers the same standard everywhere. Our network structure makes us naturally 'Europeanisable',' says **** ****.
A Buoyant Market, Headwinds or Not
Industry body Unimev reports that the French B2B event market bounced back to 107 % of its pre-Covid level in 2024. Growth is fuelled by two forces: the full-scale return to in-person gatherings and intense ESG pressure pushing procurement teams toward suppliers who can prove their impact. INNOV'events ticks both boxes: local proximity (fewer travel kilometres, terroir sourcing) and systematic carbon accounting.
Franchise Power: Agility Meets ResilienceUnlike a fully integrated chain, each INNOV'events outlet is financially autonomous—an asset when weathering shocks such as logistics inflation or calendar disruption. 'Our model preserves SME agility while delivering the fire-power of a national group,' **** sums up.
Next Up: Tech and Data
Headquarters is developing a proprietary real-time ROI dashboard (eNPS, MQL, CO₂) for clients—industrialising reporting and extending the competitive edge ahead of planned forays into Germany and the Benelux.
A Telling Success
From one small Mulhouse agency fifteen years ago, INNOV'events now spans every major French city and two European capitals. Its stated aim—to become Europe's go-to corporate event partner with local roots—looks increasingly within reach. For companies seeking a provider who blends terroir flair with international standards, the message is clear: the stage is now continental, and INNOV'events plans to be both backstage… and under the spotlight.
TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
6 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Ford CEO Jim Farley Has a Clever Defense for Auto Tariffs
At a June 27 appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival moderated by author and biographer Walter Isaacson, Ford CEO Jim Farley defended that some limited, targeted import tariffs could help the Blue Oval and other Detroit automakers survive and create more industrial jobs. Still, Farley said there needs to be a balance between a "fair playing field" to promote U.S. manufacturing while keeping cars affordable, which unfortunately will require importing components from other countries like Mexico. "What I like to say is, let's create a fair playing field for the finished vehicle. For parts, let us import parts from around the world," Farley said. "Let us keep Mexico stable, and other countries. That's what we're working with the administration on." The Ford figurehead's remarks at Aspen comes four months after he criticized President Trump's tariff policies at the same time Ford announced its Q4 and FY 2024 financial results in February, where he noted that they would create "a lot of cost and a lot of chaos," as duties on Mexican and Canadian imports "would blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we have never seen." However, he has slightly softened his position, noting that some protectionist measures could help promote American blue-collar industries, such as construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and skilled trades, to the next generation of skilled workforce instead of white-collar office work. He noted that the American workforce needs "to go back to the basics to trade schools" and that "we need to have a society that doesn't look down on people like that," adding that its factory in Germany participates in an apprenticeship program where students are exposed to an industrial environment "starting in junior high school." "What happens if you [the United States] have to defend yourself?" Farley told Issacson and the crowd at Aspen. "What, is Google going to make the tanks? We've talked a lot about energy independence, but we need to start talking about industrial independence. People do not realize how dependent we are as a country on making things in other countries." Farley pointed to the rare earth mineral crisis as an example. Over the last three weeks, Ford temporarily idled factories in the U.S. due to a shortage of magnets containing rare earth minerals, which are used in many different components. "We cannot get any high-powered magnets without China," Farley said. "We shut down plants for the last three weeks because we cannot get high-powered magnets. We can't make that stuff." As someone who graduated from a vocational high school, I see an inherent value in what Farley is saying. That's especially true as the topic of his conversation with the Steve Jobs and Elon Musk biographer turned to the Chinese EV market, where he mentioned that realizing the strength of the Chinese automotive industry was "the most humbling thing I have ever seen," adding that "seventy percent of all EVs in the world, electric vehicles, are made in China." However, I don't think that getting more people into the trades and into industrial environments is an end-all, be-all solution. As time evolves, technologies such as robotics and AI may have a larger role in industrial might; at least that is what Chinese companies like Xiaomi have been doing to scale up their car factories. Farley isn't wrong for wanting to try at least; however, there is more than what meets the eye on a topic where there is no straight solution. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chagos deal cost is ‘going rate for best defensive real estate', says ex-FO boss
Britain is paying the 'going rate as a tenant for… the best defensive real estate in the whole Indian Ocean', a former Foreign Office chief has said as he backed the Chagos Islands deal that is set to cost the taxpayer billions of pounds. Hitting out at critics who argued the UK should ignore a legal ruling to hand over the archipelago to Mauritius, Lord McDonald of Salford argued this was what 'the powerful and unprincipled do', such as Russia. The independent crossbencher, a former ambassador who headed the Foreign Office from 2015 to 2020, spoke in support of the agreement in the face of strong objections at Westminster, with opponents branding it a 'surrender' and 'gross folly' funded by the public. The deal signed last month after long-running negotiations, started under the previous Tory administration, returns sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, but will see Britain lease back the strategically important military base on Diego Garcia. It follows a 2019 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which said the UK should cede control. As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians expelled from the islands, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million annually during the duration of the 99-year agreement, a total cost in cash terms of at least £13 billion. The Government, however, estimates the bill will be lower at around £101 million a year, while critics argue it will be much higher. The deal could also be extended in the future for an extra 40 years, provided agreement is reached. In a recent report, the House of Lords International Agreements Committee (HLIAC) said although 'not perfect', the treaty must be ratified to avoid legal challenges that could threaten UK control of the military base. Its members warned Mauritius was 'likely' to resume its campaign to secure a binding judgment on sovereignty against Britain unless the agreement was approved and concluded the Government 'cannot ignore' the risk of an 'adverse ruling' putting Britain's right to run the joint UK-US site in jeopardy. Speaking at Westminster as peers debated the controversial accord, Lord McDonald said: 'The most damaging blow to any country's international reputation is a justified charge of hypocrisy. 'The United Kingdom stands for the rule of law in all circumstances. We lose credibility when we seek exceptions to this principle for ourselves.' He added: 'Opponents dislike the expense of the deal. 'Well, we're paying the going rate as a tenant for a base in the wider Indian Ocean, somewhat more than the French in Djibouti, but we're getting more for more. 'Diego Garcia is the best defensive real estate in the whole Indian Ocean. 'Even though £101 million per year is a lot, it's a lot less than the Americans pay to run the base. 'It's a joint base, and we're paying our way in the joint effort.' Lord McDonald also disputed the agreement would bolster China's presence in the Indian Ocean, arguing that 'our partner in Delhi looms much larger in Mauritian calculations than our challenger in Beijing'. He went on: 'Confronted by a charge of double standards, some opponents of this agreement shrug their shoulders. They think they can get away with it, tough it out. But that is what the powerful and unprincipled do. That is what Russia does.' The peer added: 'It gives the UK and our American allies a secure presence in the archipelago for the next 140 years. 'It enhances our security and restores our reputation as a country respecting international law, even when inconvenient and costly.' But Tory shadow foreign minister Lord Callanan said: 'This agreement amounts to a retreat, a surrender of sovereign territory that serves as a linchpin of our defence architecture at a time when authoritarian threats are rising and alliances matter more than ever. 'Handing control to a government who align themselves ever more closely with Beijing – a regime that actively undermines international norms and our national interests – is not only unwise, it is positively dangerous. 'To compound the error, the British taxpayer is being made to foot the bill.' He added: 'This whole affair has been a gross folly. There is no strategic gain here, no credible guarantee for the future of Diego Garcia and no reassurance for our allies. 'Instead, we send a message to adversaries and allies alike that British sovereignty is indeed negotiable. It is capitulation and we must reject it.' Pointing out the Tories in office had opened negotiations to cede sovereignty, Liberal Democrat Lord Purvis of Tweed said: 'The treaty is a consequence of now completing the previous Conservative government's policy.'
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mercedes-Benz expects Q2 margin headwind of less than 3% over tariffs, brokerage Bernstein says
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Mercedes-Benz expects tariff-related headwinds to the profit margin at its core cars division to be less than 3% in the second quarter, brokerage Bernstein wrote in a note, following a regular investor call ahead of quarterly results. This was due to "some de-escalation of tensions between the US and China, some tariff offsets and timing because tariffs were only ramping up in April", the brokerage said following a call with Mercedes-Benz's head of investor relations. The investor call, which was closed to the press, was held before a closed period on company information before second-quarter results scheduled for July 30. Mercedes-Benz in April pulled its earnings guidance for 2025 amid uncertainty over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on car imports. The German carmaker's finance chief at the time only said that if auto tariffs -- implemented in April -- remained in place all year, it would reduce profit margins by 300 basis points (3%) on cars and 100 basis points (1%) on vans. Mercedes-Benz's European car sales were said to be "robust", and the U.S. saw continued solid momentum at the retail level, Bernstein said in the note. Mercedes-Benz was not immediately available for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
