Recap: 2019 imm cologne and LivingKitchen

Furniture World News Desk on 1/28/2019

imm cologne/LivingKitchen announced a total of 150,000 visitors – including estimates for the final day of the events – made their way to Cologne to be inspired by the interior design worlds and kitchen showcases on display. With 52 per cent of trade visitors coming from abroad, the co-located events achieved an even greater global reach than ever before. Overall, more than one in two trade visitors traveled from abroad to attend the events. The visitors came from 145 countries. The trade fair duo also attracted greater numbers of visitors from other European nations.

“These results underscore once again that Cologne is the place to be for the global world of interior design. The past seven days have shown clearly that it is here in Cologne that the industry sets the direction for the coming year,” said Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. Echoing his comments, Jan Kurth, Chief Executive of the Verband der Deutschen Möbelindustrie (Association of the German Furniture Industry, VDM), said, “After a challenging 2018, this edition of imm cologne was an outstanding event and a successful trade fair that we as the industry are very pleased with.” Speaking on behalf of specialist retailers, Thomas Grothkopp, Managing Director of the Handelsverband Wohnen und Büro (German Retail Association for Home and Office Furniture, HWB), said: “imm cologne and LivingKitchen were once again a hotspot for inspiration and business contacts for specialist retailers. They created an appetite for interior design and made for a dynamic start to 2019.”

The events achieved significant rises in trade visitor numbers from China (up 23 per cent), North America (up 15 per cent) and South America, where an increase of 29 per cent was recorded. Within Europe, considerably more industry professionals from Greece (up 31 per cent), Ireland (up 30 per cent) and Portugal (up 31 per cent) traveled to imm cologne and LivingKitchen. The numbers attending from Spain also rose slightly by 4 per cent. The organizers were especially pleased with the 13 per cent increase in visitors from Eastern Europe. Even though traditionally the numbers of trade visitors from the major European export markets have been high, this year’s edition of the trade fair duo achieved small increases from individual countries. Visitor numbers from Belgium rose by 5 per cent, while visitors from the Netherlands increased by 3 per cent and visitors from France by 2 per cent.

Registration data for the co-located events shows that they attracted a high quality audience of retailers and wholesalers. Specialist retailers and high-profile international visitors from the furnishings trade and interior design business were recorded as visitors, with many of them coming from the global top 30 chains. Growth was especially strong from the United Kingdom, with visitors from DFS, Heal’s, John Lewis, Hatfields and Kingfisher. The events also drew a strong audience from Scandinavia in the form of IDdesign, JYSK, Svenska Hem, the Indoor Group from Finland, Bromölla Möbelaffär and Sängjätten, whose entire purchasing teams attended several days of the trade fairs. They were joined at imm cologne by decision-makers from the major international department stores, including Alinéa from France, El Corte Inglés from Spain, Nitori from Japan and Boston Interiors from the USA. The major industry players in online retail − including Amazon, the Otto Group and Wayfair. The Pure segment attracted significantly larger numbers of design-led retailers in the housewares and interiors segment from the US, Canada, Asia, Russia and Korea to imm cologne, demonstrating the strong appeal of the trade fair’s offerings for international specialist retailers and wholesalers.

LivingKitchen closes with good results

For seven days, 271 exhibitors from 28 countries showcased the industry's and the event's innovative drive, high design standards and quality. And with the proportion of visitors from abroad at 53 per cent, the event once more proved to be very international. Innovative presentations by manufacturers, world premieres of new kitchen furniture, electrical appliances, accessories and the inspiring program of events – the outstanding mix of everything connected to kitchens and cooking ensured steady levels of visitors on all days of the fair as well as satisfied exhibitors. Some 50,000 end consumers, including large numbers from neighboring Belgium and the Netherlands, took the opportunity to discover this year’s trends on the public days.

The atmosphere among trade visitors was characterized by business, networking and the search for trends. LivingKitchen’s rich and diverse blend of concepts and product innovations transformed tomorrow’s kitchens into a tangible experience. “The excellent atmosphere in the halls of LivingKitchen throughout the trade days shows how important the event is for the industry and for the German economy as a whole,” said Gerald Böse. Volker Irle, Managing Director of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche e.V. (Association for Modern Kitchens, AMK), also drew a positive conclusion: “LivingKitchen 2019 was a successful and inspiring event that created an appetite for more.”

About Koelnmesse: Koelnmesse is the world’s top trade fair organiser for the areas of furnishing, living and lifestyle. At the trade fair hub of Cologne, the leading international fair imm cologne as well as the trade fair formats of LivingKitchen, ORGATEC, spoga+gafa, interzum and Kind + Jugend rank among the internationally renowned and established industry meeting places. These fairs comprehensively represent the upholstered and case furniture segment, the kitchen industry, the office furniture sector and outdoor living as well as the innovations of the furniture supply industry. Over the last few years, Koelnmesse has specifically added international fairs in the most important fast-expanding markets to its portfolio. These include the LivingKitchen/CIKB in Shanghai, interzum guangzhou in Guangzhou and Pueri Expo in Sao Paulo. With ambista, the network of the interior decorating industry, Koelnmesse offers direct access to relevant products, contacts, competence and events. For more information, visit http://www.global-competence.net/interiors/