Retail Observer

April 2019

The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings

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RETAILOBSERVER.COM APRIL 2019 36 imm Cologne/LivingKitchen T he events achieved a significant rise in trade visitor numbers from China (up 23%), North America (up 15%) and South America, where an increase of 29% was recorded. Within Europe, considerably more industry professionals from Greece (up 31%), Ireland (up 30%) and Portugal (up 31%) travelled to imm cologne and LivingKitchen. The numbers attending from Spain also rose slightly by 4%. The organizers are especially pleased with the 13% increase in visitors from Eastern Europe. Even though traditionally the number of trade visitors from the major European export markets has already been very high, this year's edition of the trade fair duo achieved small increases in audiences from individual countries. Visitor numbers from Belgium rose 5% , while visitors from the Netherlands increased by 3% and visitors from France by 2% . But imm Cologne and LivingKitchen didn't just excel quantitatively. Registration data for the co-located events shows they attracted a high-quality audience of retailers and wholesalers. Specialist retailers and high-profile international visitors from the furnishings trade and interior design business were recorded as visitors, with many of them coming from the global top 30 chains. Growth here was especially strong from the UK, with visitors from DFS, Heal's, John Lewis, Hatfields and Kingfisher. The events also drew a strong audience from Scandinavia in the form of IDdesign, JYSK, Svenska Hem, the Indoor Group from Finland, Bromölla Möbelaffär and Sängjätten, whose entire purchasing teams attended several days of the trade fairs. They were joined at imm cologne by decision-makers from the major international department stores, including Alinéa from France, El Corte Inglés from Spain, Nitori from Japan and Boston Interiors from the USA. The major industry players in online retail − including Amazon, the Otto Group, and Wayfair − also used the event intensively for their business. The Pure segment attracted significantly larger numbers of design-led retailers in the homewares and interiors segment from the U.S., Canada, Asia, Russia and Korea to imm cologne, demonstrating the strong appeal of the trade fair's offerings for international specialist retailers and wholesalers. LivingKitchen also proved that it can deliver on all fronts, despite challenging conditions. For seven days, 271 exhibitors from 28 countries showcased the industry's and the event's innovative drive, high design standards and quality. And with the proportion of visitors from abroad at 53%, the event once more proved to be notably international.

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