The world’s leading trade fair for consumer goods in Frankfurt has come to an end after five days, finishing in an excellent mood and with a rise in visitor numbers. 136,000 trade visitors from 166 countries came to Ambiente 2019, ordering the latest products from the entire world for their businesses and obtaining inspiration for their merchandise presentation at the POS as well as new ideas for the digital future.

Occupying an exhibition space of 306,500 square metres (gross) [1], 4,451 exhibitors from 92 countries [2] revealed the trends of this coming business year. 85 per cent [3] of all exhibitors came from outside Germany, making Ambiente 2019 the most international one of all times. Ambiente in Frankfurt was visited by around 136,000 buyers from 166 countries [4], resulting in an increase in visitors and a very upbeat atmosphere in the halls. Significantly more exhibitors reached their targets for the trade fair this year, making more contacts than the year before.

“Here at Ambiente we can still feel the hustle and bustle of world trade, even if there are already quite a few signs of a downturn in the economic outlook. Using Ambiente as a trading hub, consumer goods manufacturers from the entire world target both local and regional markets – all over the world. Here in February, therefore, the signals are set for the entire year, 2019, and beyond. This is impressively borne out by the number of orders and the quality of both German and international buyers,” says Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt GmbH. A similarly positive conclusion is reached by Thomas Grothkopp, Managing Director of the German Trade Association for Residential Accommodation and Offices (HWB): “The retail trade worked very hard at Ambiente again, while the carefully planned hall structure was quite a challenge because it was new. For retailers – regardless of size – Ambiente is unrivalled in terms of innovations and internationalism.”

The top ten visitor nations after Germany were Italy, China, France, the UK, the Netherlands, the United States, Spain, Switzerland, Russia and South Korea. Satisfaction ratings among visitors remained at a high and robust level of 94 per cent. Outstanding increases in visitors were recorded from the entire world this year, particularly from South America, with countries such as Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico, from Europe with the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Russia, and from Asia, with China, Thailand and India.

Exhibitors at Ambiente agreed that the quality and large number of visitors were ideal.

Gianluca Colonna, CEO, Rosenthal GmbH

“Ambiente has been and continues to be an extremely important platform for us to present innovations and trends, to cultivate existing contacts from all over the world and to meet prospective customers in person. This year we particularly met with a lot of enthusiasm among customers when they saw our innovative Bauhaus-style products, and we had numerous designers who were available for interesting chats at our stand. In all, it was a highly successful start to the year.”

Peter Dijk, Chief Commercial Officer, Brabantia

“As always, Ambiente 2019 was a fixture in our marketing calendar and helped us increase awareness of our brand. The large number of visitors at our stand was very satisfactory, and so was Hall 12 as a new venue for Houseware & Storage. We were able to welcome existing and new customers from many countries. The international orientation of Ambiente is of special interest to us, as Brabantia is very much a global player.”

Paul Kuzina, Vice President of Global Branding, Steelite International

“For us, Ambiente is the ideal platform to present our products to a global audience. We can show the hospitality industry, in particular, what kind of designs and innovations we can offer in the global marketplace. These days have been extremely successful for us, and we see the new HoReCa Forum in 2020 as a good opportunity for even better outreach to our international customers.”

Willo Blome, CEO, Blomus

“Having repositioned Blomus as a premium lifestyle brand, we've also seen a change in our customer structure, as expected. So the change to the Living area was one of the best decisions ever. My expectations of Ambiente 2019 were quite ambitious, but they were greatly exceeded at our new position in Hall 8.0. Even halfway through Ambiente, it had become obvious that we were going to double the results we had in 2018. Ambiente is just the top-of-the-range event. The quality of this year’s visitors was outstanding, both in terms of internationalism and for the actual quality itself.

Stefan Verheyen, CEO, Dôme Deco

“We are very pleased with the results we achieved at the trade fair, and 2019 showed us yet again that there is quite simply no alternative to Ambiente for the German market. We are a concept supplier with a clear identity. At Ambiente, we reach exactly the right customers for our high standards – professionals looking for comprehensive solutions. It works very well, even in contract business.”

Michael Grasnick, Sales Manager, Mags

“We are very pleased with Ambiente 2019, especially because the quality of international visitors was amazingly good. Another great development was the large number of visitors from countries like Italy, UK and the Benelux countries, which suits us well, because our focus is on the European market. We find the new concept highly persuasive. The harmonious product mix attracts totally new visitors’ groups from a variety of industries, who also have a major affinity to our products. As a result, we’ve never gained as many new customers as we did at this year’s trade fair.”

Liudger Böll, CEO, Troika

“The new Hall 11.0 is really good, particularly when it comes to the quality and internationalism of visitors. Those who came were almost exclusively decision-makers, both from Germany and other countries, and they were highly interested and motivated. We are very pleased with the new concept. Hall 11.0 offers a well planned, heterogeneous mixture that provided us as exhibitors with totally new groups of visitors. Ambiente is becoming increasingly important in its function as the leading event in the consumer goods industry. In the gifts industry it is the main trade show of the year for us, particularly for our international business. You just have to give it to Frankfurt: “This is the place where all the vital business takes place.”

In Living and Giving, Ambiente featured a completely new structure. Retailers discovered products for their core ranges, while also being able to find out about suitable additional ranges and then to actually place orders. This is all about the increasing global trend towards concept stores. In the Dining area, the Houseware & Storage segment presented the latest household gadgets and other helpful items, situated for the first time in the new Hall 12. The structural innovations at Ambiente 2019 met with positive acceptance among exhibitors and visitors alike, bringing new groups of visitors to the stands in each of the halls.

Ambiente 2019 was very much dominated by the masterly craftsmanship and traditions of the subcontinent, by Bollywood and by an amazing variety of delicious food. Over the last few years eight partner countries have successfully showcased themselves at Ambiente. Now it’s time for something new and the partner country globe is returning home. But in 2020, we can also look forward to the exciting subject of “The world comes to Ambiente”, as the world’s leading trade fair will be presenting a programme in a new look and exceptional design.

For the first time in 2020, the Dining area will expand to include a dedicated hall level for exhibitors from the hotel, restaurant and catering industry (HoReCa). In this way the world’s leading trade fair for consumer goods will underline its position as an important international HoReCa trading platform for everything that matters in the hospitality industry. Moreover, in 2020, it will give this segment more space in the form of the new HoReCa Forum in Hall 6.0.

The next Ambiente will be held from 7 to 11 February 2020. For more information, click the link below: