Innovations, new product ideas and sales concepts bring trade up to speed: The three international consumer goods fairs Christmasworld, Paperworld and Creativeworld, as well as the new Floradecora trade fair end today for 2,938 exhibitors from 63 countries (2016: 2,855*) with countless new contacts and well-filled order books. More than 85,400 trade buyers from 154 countries (2016: 82,097*) attended the Frankfurt fair over the last five days to order goods for next season and establish important trading relationships. "The solid growth in exhibitors and visitors by more than 3% confirms: Our Frankfurt consumer goods fairs Christmasworld, Floradecora, Paperworld and Creativeworld are the international hub for the trade all over the world", is the assessment of Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt.

"The top purchasing decision-makers for all sales channels are represented - more visitors made their way to Frankfurt than a year ago, especially from Germany. At the same time, the high international spread of 60% provided tremendous export opportunities for the manufacturers", he adds, having had numerous discussions with associations and exhibitors. Three quarters of the total visitors come from top management and have the requisite decision-making authority, which underlines the particularly high visitor quality. The extensive range of products at the four concurrent trade shows especially attracted buyers to Frankfurt from Italy, Russia, Argentina, the US and Japan. The reason for this: "They encounter highly complementary product ranges here - unlike at any other exhibition", says Braun. The products range from Christmas ornaments and seasonal decoration in conjunction with fresh flowers and plants, to hobby, craft and art supplies, and extends to gift items, paper articles, stationery, school requisites and office supplies.

The results of the visitor survey confirm that the product portfolio is right: Significantly more than 90% of visitors are either satisfied or very satisfied with the spread of products and manufacturers, as well as with the trade fairs themselves. Compared to last year, this value increased along with the exhibitors' satisfaction with the fairs, ordering behavior, and the quality of visitors.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of Paperworld - it was very busy in the aisles and at our booth. Our goal was to increase our discussions with national and international trade visitors, and we more than succeeded in this. For us, the Paperworld provides the opportunity every year to connect with the international trade in one place again", says Martina Schneider, Head of PR at Schneider Schreibgeräte. Thomas Bona, Managing Director of the German PBS Brand Industry Association, confirms the mood in the industry. "Our members represented here are very satisfied with the way the fair is going - especially with regards to visitor internationality and the resulting export opportunities". The association expects a very good result for its members at Paperworld. One important subject at Paperworld was the workplace of the future - numerous presentations and the special exhibition "The office of the future" provided new impetus not only for the trade, but also for facility managers and architects.

Christmasworld exhibitor Johann Hugues, CEO of Blachere Illumination, comes to a similar conclusion: "Christmasworld went really well this year. We had more inquiries than last year, our stand was constantly busy. This might be due to our innovations, but the fair once again had more to offer this year." All four fairs were characterized by a large number of product launches that provided the trade with new incentives and impulses: "We try to launch our new products so they can be introduced at Creativeworld, because there is no other fair with such a wide range of buyers", says Stephan Rayher, Managing Director of Rayher Hobby. He is not alone in this. For Nils Knappe, Managing Director of Schmincke, Creativeworld is also the launching pad for new goods. "Our new products are ready just in time for the trade fair - this ensures we can present our artist's paints to a broad international audience."

Messe Frankfurt itself also presented an innovative new feature. For the first time, Floradecora took place parallel to Christmasworld as a new trade fair for fresh flowers and plants. More than 60 suppliers presented their products and concept solutions in Hall 11.1. In addition to numerous Christmasworld exhibitors and the Association of German Garden Centres, the European Lifestyle Association also welcomes Messe Frankfurt's innovative spirit in developing new formats and product ranges for the trade: "Floradecora provides new momentum that the industry needs. The concept is impressive and we very much hope that the exhibition establishes itself at the location", says Managing Director Heike Tscherwinka.

Exhibitors like Europe's largest Christmas tree producer Arbodania from Denmark confirm that the concept proved a success at its premiere already: "We reached new target groups that were completely new to us, such as a large furniture chain that we would never have met on any other platform. This opens up new market opportunities for us and new sales potential for buyers", says Sales Director Michael Schnor. For Danny van Uffelen of exhibitor Zentoo, the fair also lived up to expectations: "We wanted to address new target groups, florists who are looking for new solutions like convenience products, for example. This is not possible at conventional flower fairs. But it is at Floradecora - with a very high quality of visitors." The combination of cut flowers, indoor plants and decorative elements also creates new growth opportunities for Christmasworld exhibitors: "We were instantly aware of this new product segment close to the Christmasworld halls. Significantly more florists visited our stand than a few years ago. It's a great synergy", is the verdict of Manuel Vels, Managing Director of Pusteblume.

Next year, the consumer goods trade fair quartet will take place around the last Saturday in January, as in previous years:

Christmasworld: 26 - 30 January 2018

Floradecora: 26 - 29 January 2018

Paperworld and Creativeworld: 27 - 30 January 2018