Christmasworld 2014: 95 Percent of Exhibition Space Already Booked
Held at the beginning of the business year, the next Christmasworld from 24 to 28 January 2014 will open the new festive season with a new hall concept and an extended programme of events. At the same time, the leading international trade fair for festive decorations – The World of Seasonal Decoration – will be even more transparent for trade visitors. With its unique range of products, Christmasworld is the indispensable and reliable trend and order platform for retail and wholesale buyers from garden centres and DIY markets, bulk buyers, florists, shopping-centre managers, interior furnishing specialists, designers and decorators. But that’s not all: Christmasworld presents not only the coming decoration trends and new products for all festivities of the year but also complete decoration concepts, which are becoming increasingly popular for large-scale and outdoor decorations, as well as for in-shop presentations. Thus, visitors can experience a variety of impressing worlds of festive decorations and gain inspiration for new ways of reaching customers on an emotional plane.
“Two parameters are decisive for us when we draw up our plans for the five exhibition halls and 88,000 square metres of exhibition space (gross). Firstly, the requirements of our exhibitors; secondly, a transparent visitor guidance system that ensures an even flow of visitors to all halls”, says Eva Olbrich, Christmasworld Director, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH. The new concept has been given a warm reception by exhibitors – 95 percent of the exhibition space has already been booked so that Christmasworld 2014 is virtually sold out with over six months still to go before the doors open. Registrations have been received from the key players of the decoration sector.
Core Christmas & Advent segments to move
To reduce walking distances, around 70 exhibitors from the core Christmas and Advent segments will be regrouped in Halls 11.0, 9.0 and 9.1. Within the framework of this change, Hall 11.1 will no longer be occupied while Hall 11.0 will be filled with a more compact and attractive exhibitor configuration. Additionally, the special shows will be taken out of the exhibition halls and relocated at the junctions between the halls (in the foyer of Hall 11.0 North and in Galleria 1 between Halls 8 and 9). The result is a qualitative upgrade in terms of product-group structure. “Our aim is to distinguish more between products for bulk buyers, who traditionally put together their complete Christmas assortment at Christmasworld, and high-grade arts & crafts and decorations, which are hand-made in smaller quantities”, adds Eva Olbrich. “This means that visitors will find everything for the Christmas tree in Hall 11.0 and hand-crafted Christmas decorations in Hall 9.1”. To ensure visitors can find their way around quickly and easily, the new locations will be clearly communicated, e.g., via the visitor signage at the fair and in the exhibitor and product search engine.
Hall 11.0: Visual merchandising & lighting, New: Christmas & Advent
Visitors looking for baubles or lighting should go to Hall 11.0. There, in addition to products for professional large-scale decorations and lighting, they will find basic Christmas-tree decorations – from baubles, via trendy Christmas figures and original festive decorations, to fairy lights. These products are of particular interest to bulk buyers from DIY and garden centres and department stores. Together, the two important core product groups will exercise a great power of attraction on numerous visitors.
Hall 9.0: Florist’s requisites & garden decorations, seasonal decorations
From next year, other suppliers and importers of bulk Christmas articles and nativity scenes will be located in Hall 9.0. As in the past, companies with artificial Christmas trees remain in this exhibition hall and supplement the seasonal decorations product group. Also in Hall 9.0, visitors will find everything for parties, as well as festive articles and displays.
9.1 Seasonal decorations & gifts, New: Christmas & Advent
The complete range of hand-made handicrafts with classic Christmas-tree decorations, filigree figures made of wood, glass and porcelain, candle arches and traditional folk art moves to Hall 9.1. This includes the German Christmas Crafts area, which was successfully launched last year, and Italian arts & crafts and nativity scenes. As usual, trade visitors will find a comprehensive range of creative gift articles and decorative home accessories.
8.0 Florists’ requisites & garden decorations, ribbons & packaging materials, candles & fragrances
The structure of Hall 8.0 remains largely unchanged with the focus on florists’ requisites and a large contingent from the European Floral and Lifestyle Suppliers Association (EFSA). Besides full-range suppliers with complete portfolios of festive products, many Hall 8.0 exhibitors present a wide range of silk and artificial flowers and plants, as well as planters. Also to be found there are the growing product groups of candles & fragrances and ribbons & packaging materials. Particularly striking is the large number of Italian manufacturers and importers, as well as the growing range of products from Turkey.
9.2 Asia Christmas & Decoration
From florists’ requisites, via seasonal decorations and Christmas products, to lighting, the Asian pavilions and individual exhibitors from China, India, Thailand and the Philippines mirror the entire product portfolio of Christmasworld in Hall 9.2. Under the name ‘Asia Christmas & Decoration’, they offer decorative products for buyers wanting to order medium to large quantities. New is the ‘Asia Select’ area, which reflects the trend to high-grade products among the Asian suppliers making individual presentations.
Extensive complementary programme promotes new trends in the market
The high-grade complementary programme will be bigger than ever before at the next Christmasworld and offer trade visitors the vital inspiration, information and contacts needed to boost the seasonal business. On behalf of Messe Frankfurt, the designers of style agency bora.herke.palmisano provide insights into the colours and materials of the 2014/2015 season in their Christmasworld Trend Show. Using selected exhibitor products, they offer buyers valuable hints and ideas for trend-oriented in-shop displays and window dressing. “The Christmasworld Trend Show is the primary source of inspiration for our international trade buyers, a fact that is repeatedly confirmed in our polls. To be located in Galleria 1, it moves back to its traditional setting”, says a delighted Eva Olbrich.
For the coming Christmasworld, the two creative personalities from Holland’s 2Dezign agency are building a big castle, including a toy factory and production facilities for Christmas articles and gifts, in Galleria 1. With their ‘Newstalgia’ special show, Rudi Tuinman and Pascal Koeleman will take visitors into a fascinating world that brings back wonderful childhood memories of an enchanting Christmas time and motivate them to decorate their shop windows in a nostalgic, old-fashioned style. The Christmas landscape provides the perfect setting for appropriate decorative elements supplied by international exhibitors.
The collaboration with the ‘Association Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs’ will be held for the third time in 2014. Following the Christmas-tree creations by Jean Paul Gaultier and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, trade visitors can look forward to the work of a new designer who will introduce a breath of haute couture at the fair – in the foyer of Hall 11.0 (North).
At the German Christmas Crafts area in Hall 9.1, domestic companies present exclusive, high-quality arts & crafts ‘made in Germany’. For international buyers in particular, this platform represents a unique opportunity to supplement their assortments with Christmas products popular abroad with the German seal of quality.
New is the Decoration Star Innovation Award, which will be presented for the first time at Christmasworld for products distinguished by, for example, special qualities, design, complexity, ergonomics or environmental compatibility. In cooperation with the Bit-Verlag publishing company, it is given in three categories: Christmas Star (products for Christmas time), Seasonal Star (products for seasonal decorations and gifts) and Promotion Star (advertising, sales promotions, PoS activities). Further information will be available soon on the internet at www.decorationstar.de.
The Christmasworld Forum in the foyer of Hall 11.0 offers an attractive programme of lectures and workshops throughout the fair and will feature simultaneous English translations, making it of interest to international visitors, too. In planning are special thematic offers for florists, decorators and retailers, as well as DIY and garden centre operators. Also more international in 2014 will be the Christmas Garden Market Competition, which was launched last year and honoured the most attractive German and Dutch presentations and campaigns in garden centres and shops. Now, the search is also on for Christmas garden markets in Austria and Switzerland.
Also launched at the last Christmasworld, the Premium Business Programme for top decision makers and designers of large-scale decorations for city centres, shopping malls and public buildings will be bilingual in future. There will be a day with impulse lectures, panel discussions and a designer’s speech on current trends in the shopping-centre sector – including guided tours of the fair to the ‘Newstalgia’ special show by 2Dezign followed by a get-together party. Additionally, Christmasworld exhibitors with large-scale concept decorations will once again be labelled with the ‘Concept Decorations’ signet. At the last Christmasworld, 50 exhibitors were specially marked with this label.
Added value from the trio of fairs
he neighbouring Paperworld and Creativeworld trade fairs offer valuable synergistic effects for Christmasworld buyers. At Paperworld, for example, they can find everything from gift-wrapping materials and paper, as well as greetings cards and calendars, to office supplies, stationery and writing utensils. At Creativeworld, the trade fair for hobby, handicrafts and artists’ requisites, exhibitors present a complete range of products for making decorations of all kinds at home.
Note for journalists:
You will find further information and high-resolution photographs on the internet at www.christmasworld.messefrankfurt.com.
Christmasworld: The World of Seasonal Decoration
Christmasworld is the world’s leading order venue for the international festive decoration sector. Held annually in Frankfurt, it presents the latest products and trends for all festivities of the year and supplies innovative concept ideas for decorating large-scale and outdoor areas for the wholesale and retail trade, shopping centres, DIY markets and the green sector. The last Christmasworld attracted over 940 exhibitors and more than 30,600 visitors from all over the world. The next Christmasworld will take place from 24 to 28 January 2014 and once again be distinguished by the complete spectrum of festive and decorative articles
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser, with 538* million euros in sales and 1,891* active employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries and approx. 50 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2012, Messe Frankfurt organised 109* trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.
Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Center. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent.
or more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
* Preliminary figures (2012).
