Final Report from Messe Frankfurt
Over 133,000 buyers from all over the world made their way to Frankfurt am Main for the biggest international consumer-goods fair from 12 to 16 February 2010. While Germany shivered in the icy grip of winter, the vast range of products for the table, kitchen, home, furnishing and giving to be seen created a spring-like atmosphere in the exhibition halls. 4,504 exhibitors from 93 countries captured the attention of international trade visitors with their new products and presentations. Despite extremely bad weather conditions and snow chaos, there was only a two percent drop in the number of trade visitors, most of them from Germany. A complete contrast was presented by foreign visitors, the number of whom jumped by over ten percent in certain segments to reach over 47 percent of the total. Thus, the 2010 event was the most international Ambiente ever. After Germany, the top-five visitor nations were Italy, The Netherlands, France, Spain and Switzerland. Huge, double-digit increases were recorded from countries such as the USA (22 percent), Turkey (37 percent), Russia (39 percent), Brazil (44 percent) and the United Arab Emirates (70 percent).
“The traffic chaos caused by heavy falls of snow did not make life easy for visitors this year. Nevertheless, the increase in the number of visitors from outside Germany shows that the international economy is well on the way to recovery. The trade has regained its optimism, the industry radiates creative energy and we at Messe Frankfurt are delighted that, with the restructured Ambiente, we have created an ideal setting for successful business”, said Dr. Michael Peters, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt GmbH. “The fundamental restructuring of Ambiente has been given a warm reception by almost all exhibitors. It has resulted in a different, more modern presentation of the spectrum of products available, which are now seen more clearly by visitors. Accordingly, we are confident that Ambiente 2010 will generate decisive impulses for the course of business in the sector this year”, said Jens-Heinrich Beckmann, General Manager of the German Knives and Housewares Association (Industrieverband Schneidund Haushaltwaren e.V. IVSH), confirming the successful new concept of the event. “The position of the porcelain manufacturers in the new hall is perfect. The overall setting and the arrangement are much better. The mood is significantly more optimistic and there have been more visitors. All in all, we are very pleased”, said Peter Frischholz, General Manager of the Association of the Ceramic Industry (Verband der Keramischen Industrie e.V.), about the new location of the ceramic industry at Ambiente. Similarly positive comments could also be heard from the industry itself. For example, Nicolas Luc Villeroy, Managing Director, Tableware, Villeroy & Boch, said, “At first, I was sceptical about the timing and the cost of restructuring the fair. Now, however, I must say that I am very pleased with the results. We took the opportunity to make a completely new presentation, and this has been a great success and given us a much needed boost. We have fresh wind in our sails and are extremely satisfied.” Thorsten Klapproth, Chairman of the Board of Management of WMF AG was also, “Pleased about the change. We have only benefited from the hall. Naturally, there were some negative aspects because we had to invest a great deal. However, it has paid off.”
This positive echo is also reflected in the statistics. The overall level of exhibitor satisfaction with the results of the fair rose again this year. On the visitor side, the level of over 90 percent reached can be described as almost perfect. On behalf of the trade, Thomas Grothkopp, General Manager of the German Association for Tableware, Housewares and Home Decor (Bundesverbandes für den Gedeckten Tisch, Hausrat und Wohnkultur e.V.), spoke of a, “Fresh wind of change. The old permanent-stand floors in Hall 10 have been replaced by a themed, target-group oriented layout. The complete restructuring of the fair was a transparent and necessary step. Exhibitors have taken up this challenge and taken the opportunity to make modern presentations in a setting distinguished by related products. For trade visitors, this meant rethinking their visit, taking new ways and, on this occasion, allowing more time.”
A ‘wake-up call’ was how Detlef Klatt, General Manager of O Living Interior Design GmbH, suppliers of home and furnishing accessories, described the new Ambiente: “The concept is a success. Both exhibitors and visitors have been galvanised into life. We are delighted and our expectations have been fulfilled.” Another exhibitor, Sebastian Klein, Chairman of the Board of Management of distributors Klein & More AG + Co KG said, “It is a pleasure to be here and the exhibition hall is great. Although there have been fewer visitors so far, our sales are up. This situation is also a reflection of the process of concentration currently taking place in the specialist trade.” In line with account, buyers at this year’s Ambiente were once again highly qualified and authorised to make decisions on behalf of their companies. Two thirds of them were middle to top managers able to take major buying decisions.
All in all, Ambiente was distinguished by a positive economic climate on both the industry and trade sides. In and outside Germany, the economic barometer is beginning to rise again. Three quarters of all respondents said they consider the economic situation to be satisfactory to good. Thus, the European Lifestyle Association (Europäische Verband Lifestyle – EVL) gave the current business climate an optimistic rating. “This year’s fair is a good sign that we have steered our way out of the crisis. There is good ground for optimism because customers are getting bolder again. Those who invest now, present good collections, provide top-class customer services and offer customer-loyalty programmes, will rank among the winners of this crisis”, said Heike Tscherwinka, EVL General Manager.
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
With annual revenues of € 424 million* and over 1,500 employees around the world, Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s biggest fair and exhibition company. The corporate group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international sales partners, which represent Messe Frankfurt in over 150 countries of the world. Events ‘made by Messe Frankfurt’ are held at over 30 venues worldwide. In 2009*, the Messe Frankfurt group organised over 90 fairs, more than half of them outside Germany. At present, the Exhibition Centre can boast 578,000 square metres of ground space with ten exhibition halls and a congress centre. The company is publicly owned with 60 percent being held by the City of Frankfurt and 40 by the State of Hesse. Further information: www.messefrankfurt.com *Provisional figures for the 2009 business year.
