Tendence - 2:0 for Innovativeness and Internationality

The consumer-goods business is and will remain an impulse business – this was once again evident from the spectrum to be seen at this year’s Tendence. Around 20,000 trade visitors from 821 countries – including five percent more visitors from outside Germany than last year – made new contacts, ordered the latest products for their businesses and gathered innovative ideas and impulses for a competitive future.

The focus of the 960 exhibitors during the four days of this year’s Tendence was on inspiration for assortment presentation, product displays, customer advertising and events at the point of sale. Special presentations, such as Tendence.Impulse, Outdoor Living, Concept Store Inspirations and Paper & Friends, as well as the new Pioneers of Lifestyle conference, provided important value added. The trade fair helps the trade meet its daily challenges precisely and efficiently.

“The trade faces a difficult market. A new study by IFH Cologne commissioned by Messe Frankfurt shows clearly that there has been a significant decline in the number of retailers in Germany. Since 2000, no less than 27 percent have closed their doors”, says Stephan Kurzawski, Senior Vice President, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.

As the study shows, the online trade, above all, represents a great problem for the bricks-and-mortar trade with the number of retailers having dropped from 409,760 in 2000 to just 298,657 in 2017.2 According to the study, the share of total turnover held by the online trade could double by 2025.

“Against this background, it is only logical that we help the trade remain competitive by providing multi-faceted impulses and assistance via this year’s complementary programme of events at Tendence. In 2019, we will go a step further by reshaping Tendence in line with modern trade structures and the needs of the trade”, adds Stephan Kurzawski.

This view is also shared by Thomas Grothkopp, Director General of the German Home and Office Association (Bundesverband Wohnen und Büro e.V. – BWB): “Tendence has shown that there is a genuine need for a fair of this kind in the middle of the year. And it makes sense to offer trade visitors value added with special events, such as the Tendence Academy, Tendence.Impulse and Concept Store Inspirations.”

Tropical temperatures and a great summer atmosphere once again provided the ideal setting for around 20,000 buyers from 821 countries to make contacts, discover innovations and place orders. The proportion of buyers from outside Germany reached 20 percent, a significant increase over last year’s fair. The level of visitor satisfaction remained stable at the highest level. After Germany, the top ten visitor nations were Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Italy, the People’s Republic of China, Belgium, Vietnam, Japan and Spain. Significant increases in visitor numbers were registered from the core European markets, especially Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.

New Pioneers of Lifestyle conference

Held on 2 and 3 July, the new Pioneers of Lifestyle conference brought together start-ups, small-to-medium sized companies and corporations from the lifestyle industry for the first time. The conference was given a very warm reception by the sector and was fully booked up several days before the doors opened.

Collaboration with Gardiente for the first time

Tendence visitors could also benefit from the concurrent Gardiente trade fair for garden furniture and parasols in Hofheim-Wallau. Thanks to a free shuttle bus, buyers had the opportunity to visit both events and many of them took advantage of this service. This collaboration generated a variety of synergistic effects for both events.

Exhibitor statements

This is also the right way for future-oriented exhibitors and they proved to be satisfied with the commitment of Messe Frankfurt and Tendence 2018:

Kathrin Völker, CEO, Räder, Hall 8.0

“Our stand is full, business is good – our customers are here and they are buying. I think we will at least come up to last year’s mark and, if we are lucky, achieve a small increase. We are completely satisfied.”

Michael Rossmann, CEO, PAD Home Design, Hall 9.0

“We have once again made contact with new key accounts at Tendence 2018 – and they have exactly the level of decision-making authority we need. And this is great! We were not only fully occupied at this year’s Tendence. We dealt with customers who are both willing and able to buy. In addition to Germany, they came from countries such as Italy, Spain and Ireland.”

Thomas Wurm, CEO, G. Wurm, Hall 9.1

“For us, Tendence is and remains important – just like all fairs in Frankfurt. We are also satisfied with the course of business this year. Our sales structure means we need this event to present our products. Tendence will continue to be important for us because here we meet customers who place orders.”

Peter Thomaschewski, Fair Sales, SAG New Look, India, Hall 9.2

“Europe has always had a great potential for us. Accordingly, our experience at Tendence 2018 has been super. Once again, we were able to hold successful discussions with our German and European sales partners. This year, we are particularly pleased to have made lots of interesting new contacts with important buyers from East European countries, such as Poland, the Ukraine and Serbia. We are also very pleased with the demand for our product and will certainly be back again in 2019.”

Thomas Halstrick, CEO, ppd Paperproducts Design GmbH, Hall 11.0

“The Village is extremely popular. And there seem to have been more visitors than expected. All in all, the mood at Tendence is very good. The decision makers come here and there is a high propensity to purchase – a basis on which we can build.”

Ronald Langer, proprietor, Dazzl Design, Hall 11.1

“For us, the fair here in Frankfurt was as always: a great success. Period. Compared to last year, we have achieved at least the same result. But probably more. And last year was really good. As always, we welcomed regular customers. And some new customers, too.”

Caroline Haakman, Marketing, Barendsen, Outdoor Living area

“Tendence has always been a good event for us. Here, we meet our customers and make new contacts. What makes Frankfurt so special is the result: for us, I can say that 99 percent of contacts are very valuable. And this is really good, I think.”

The next Tendence will be held from 29 June to 2 July 2019. For more information, please click the company name link below:

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