imm cologne achieves record numbers
February 23, 2017
(Germany) – imm cologne and LivingKitchen achieves over 150,000 visitors for the first time.
Cologne expands its position as the global capital for interior design, as imm cologne and LivingKitchen achieved a record number of visitors this year. “We met our target and have broken the 150,000-visitor mark,” said Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH, who is delighted with the results.
Roughly every second trade visitor came from outside Germany, with foreign trade visitors accounting for nearly 50%. “That shows we are right on track with our drive to internationalise the events,” Böse continued.
Dirk-Uwe Klaas, Managing Director of the Federal Association of the German Furniture Industry, was similarly pleased with the figures. “The Cologne furniture show was a wonderful summit for interior decor. The German furniture industry is completely satisfied with imm cologne. It was the ideal start to 2017, which will no doubt be an excellent year for the industry,” said Klaas.
On behalf of retailers, the President of the German Federal Association of Furniture, Kitchens & Furnishing Retailers (BVDM), Hans Strothoff, gave the following verdict: “The trade fair met retailers’ expectations. The quality of the exhibitors was high; a large number of new launches were on show, and visitors had a chance to experience attractive product presentations. This makes a visit to the trade fair well worth its while. And it’s why retailers also see the trade fair as a fantastic way to launch the 2017 furniture year.”
Of the 104,000 trade visitors, around 56,000 came from Germany and approximately 48,000 from abroad (an increase of 4 per cent). Within Europe, increases in visitor figures were recorded in particular from Spain (up 25 per cent), Russia (up 26 per cent), Italy (up 19 per cent) and the UK (up 13 per cent). Visitor numbers from the Netherlands and Poland also increased. Numbers of overseas trade visitors rose, in particular visitors from China (up 5 per cent), South Korea (up 12 per cent) and India (up 5 per cent).
A rise was also recorded in visitor numbers from the Middle East (up 19 per cent), with particularly strong growth from the United Arab Emirates. With these excellent numbers of foreign visitors, the two trade fairs will boost exhibitors’ exports. Koelnmesse Chief Operating Officer Katharina C. Hamma emphasised the quality of the trade visitors: “No other event brings supply and demand together as effectively in this quality as imm cologne and LivingKitchen.”
Initial evaluations of the results showed that the trade visitors included large numbers of the global top 30 retail chains, such as John Lewis, Home Retail Group, Harveys Furniture -all from the UK – as well as Conforama from France and Nitori from Japan. The major industry players in online retail – including Amazon and the Otto Group – also used the event intensively for their businesses. With these results, the trade fair duo has confirmed its importance for the interior design industry’s global commercial operations on a national and an international level.
The next imm cologne will take place from 15 to 21 January 2018 in Cologne, co-located with LivingInteriors.
