Record number of exhibitors in Heimtextil

Record number of exhibitors

This large number of visitors goes hand-in-hand with a large

number of exhibitors. This year, 2,601 exhibitors from 60 countries took part (2010: 2,469, basis: FKM), 87% of them from outside Germany, a new record level of internationality. The best

represented European exhibitor nations were Germany, Turkey,

Italy, Spain, France and Great Britain. From overseas, they were

China, India, Pakistan, Taiwan and the USA.

On the whole, the excellent exhibitor and visitor statistics for

Heimtextil mean the German fair and exhibition business can look

forward to a successful year. In the sector, the Heimtextil is

regarded as an important trend indicator because it is the first

eading international trade fair of the year in

Germany. “The signs from Frankfurt are

unequivocal – in the wake of the economic

crisis, leading trade fairs are more important

than ever before”, remarked Detlef Braun.

According to a current poll conducted by the

Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (Messeausschuss

der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V. – AUMA), fairs and exhibitions

account for 43% of the marketing budget and are, therefore, the

most important tool in the B2B sector.

Martin Auerbach, General Manager of the Association of the

German Home Textile Industry (Verband der Deutschen

Heimtextilien-Industrie), Wuppertal, summarized the fair on

behalf of the domestic industry: “Heimtextil 2011 was a perfect

start to the business year with a large number of exhibitors who

attracted a veritable flood of visitors, an extensive complementary

programme of events that catered for all aspects and an atmosphere that gave our members good ground to anticipate a successful new year. These at least are the conclusions to be drawn

from the many very good discussions held by our members with

all key accounts at the fair.”

No less than 5,400 experts from the German interior decorator trade registered for Heimtextil 2011. “This is a good 50% of

total qualified interior decoration companies in Germany”, said

Henning Cronemeyer, General Manager of the German Interior

Decoration Association (Zentralverband Raum und Ausstattung),

Bonn, at the end of the fair. “Our members have taken away a

host of fresh ideas and new products for decorating walls and

ceilings, as well as for decorative fabrics, upholstered furnishings

and sun protection systems. And there was an incredible response

to the Heimtextil customer programme – this sign of appreciation

of interior decorators as experts for the world’s most important

trade fair for home textiles was greatly appreciated. New and

interesting for our members was the perfect arrangement of all

suppliers of relevance in the exhibition halls – and the excellent

design quality of offers for the interior-decoration trade. There is

still much of relevance for our trade that remains to be discovered

at the fair.”

German bed dealers were also satisfied. “Our members were

very pleased with the range of products to be seen in the halls

and the ‘Bed’n Excellence’ trade-visitor programme in Hall 8”,

says Axel Augustin, German Association of the Textile Retail

Trade (Bundesverband des Textileinzelhandels – BTE), Cologne.

The spectrum of exhibits to be seen at Heimtextil 2011 was

dominated by new products and many companies presented

home and household textiles produced using sustainable meth

ods. However, trade visitors were also impressed by new developments in the fibres field and the introduction of fashion labels

with home textile brands.

For example, Escada is launching its first home collection this

year and has given the licence to Erbelle Spirit GmbH, Germany.

General Manager, Noam Engber: “The presentation of our Escada

brand in the ‘home’ section was a world première. We are very

pleased with the course of business at the fair. The echo was very

good and we welcomed customers from Europe, the USA and

Asia. We liked Hall 11.0 very much and will be back again here

next year.”

With Hugo Boss Home, Franck Vandenabeel, Vice President,

Olivier Desforges, France, brought exclusive designer-bed linen to

the fair: “This is our first time with the Hugo Boss Home and

Olivier Desforges brands at Heimtextil although we previously

exhibited here for around ten years. Moreover, we have been

very pleasantly surprised. Our aim was to gain a foothold in the

German market with the Hugo Boss licence. The feedback has

been good and we are very pleased with the number of contacts

to potential partners. At Heimtextil, you find a large range of

trademarks, numerous different manufacturers and representatives of the major department stores.”

Holger Steuter, Marketing Manager, biederlackborbo blankets and throws, confirmed the good course of business at the

fair. “Heimtextil is a very good order fair for us and the orders

received at this year’s fair were also very good.”

Manufacturers of fabrics, wall coverings and curtains were

very pleased with their new location in Hall 3.1. Dr. Michael

Pehlke, Head of Public Relations of paint manufacturer J. W.

Ostendorf, Germany, said, “This was our first time at Heimtextil

as exhibitors. For us, the fair represented the starting shot for our

campaign to position our innovative Signeo brand for individual

colour worlds in the market. All-in-all, we are very pleased with

our participation, i.e., the numerous successful discussions, the

location of our stand in the very attractive Hall 3.1, and the visit

of Jette Joop who developed the colour concepts for Signeo. We

will certainly give serious consideration to returning for Heimtextil

2012.”