MARCH 2016 RETAILOBSERVER.COM
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Successful Start to the New Year for the Industry
FINAL REPORT 2016
imm Cologne and LivingInteriors
• 8 0 , 0 0 0 T R A D E V I S I T O R S F R O M 1 2 8 C O U N T R I E S
• S I G N I F I C A N T I N C R E A S E I N V I S I T O R S F R O M E U R O P E
• 1 , 1 8 5 E X H I B I T O R S F R O M 5 0 C O U N T R I E S
• L I V I N G I N T E R I O R S D A Z Z L E S W I T H S M A R T H O M E
F
rom January 18th to the 24th of 2016 at
imm Cologne and LivingInteriors, a total of
1,185 companies from 50 countries
presented the trends in furniture and
furnishings for the coming year. Buyers from
the trade with decision-making authority
made for a dynamic trade fair during the first
five days. With approximately 80,000 trade
visitors from 128 countries, the event
recorded a slight increase (4.8 percent) in
trade fair visitor numbers compared to 2014. The proportion of
visitors from abroad was 46 percent (based on the trade visitor
days). The development in the number of visitors from overseas
was positive, while the trade fair duo recorded an especially
significant increase in the number of visitors from Europe. "This
outcome shows that imm cologne is unmatched as a business
event for the global furniture and furnishings industry," said
Gerald Böse, president and chief executive officer of
Koelnmesse, summing up the event.
"This is where the world comes together to do business,
which offers a lot of new opportunities for export-oriented
companies. At the same time, this fair duo has proved once
again that business and creative inspiration are not mutually
exclusive," Böse continued. "imm cologne was a wonderful
furniture show and has got us off to a very successful start
to the 2016 furniture year. With so many new products and
ideas, innovations and great models in all price ranges, we
are confident that the German furniture industry will
achieve another increase in sales this year," added Dirk-Uwe
Klaas, managing director of the Federal Association of the
German Furniture Industry (VDM). This was confirmed by
Hans Strothoff, president of the Federal Association of
German Furniture, Kitchens and Furnishing Retailers (BVDM):
"This year's imm cologne really stimulated a keen interest in
