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 Ambiente Frankfurt
Feb 8-12, 2008, Frankfurt, Germany |
Final report 2007
• Another record number of visitors in Frankfurt: more than 150,000 trade visitors at Ambiente 2007
• Strong growth in visitors from Italy, France, Great Britain and Russia
• New confidence in the trade: trade visitors again ordering individual, high-quality products
 Tuesday 13 February 2007 saw the close of the world’s biggest consumer-goods fair in Frankfurt, with visitor numbers up once again. For five days more than 150,000 trade visitors (up two percent on the previous year) from 128 countries saw at first hand the fascinating world of the international consumer-goods industry. “There was a mood in the air of get-up-and-go, more intense than we have seen for a long time. The trade came to Frankfurt with enormous zest, took the outstretched hand of industry, and made its orders”, said Dr. Michael Peters, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt GmbH, on the last day of Ambiente. The outstretched hand of industry – this meant new products and trends from the 4,604 exhibitors from 85 countries who were showing their products in three segments: table and kitchen; house, home and furnishings; and gifts.
This positive atmosphere in the fair halls was fuelled by a thoroughly optimistic assessment of the economic situation in the sector, both among exhibitors and visitors. Particular confidence was shown by trade and industry from Germany − they gave a positive assessment to the current economic situation, rating it respectively at 14 and 10 percentage points higher than in the previous year. “It was a very satisfactory Ambiente for us, better than we have seen for a long time. That applies both to Germany and abroad. For us it was a good curtain-raiser to the new business season”, says Jens-Heinrich Beckmann, General Manager of the Industrial Association for Cutlery and Household Goods (Industrieverband Schneid- und Haushaltwaren e.V. − IVSH) and official representative of the European Lifestyle Association (Europäischer Verband Lifestyle e.V. − EVL), summing up the outcome in a positive tone.
 Two thirds of industrial exhibitors attained the objectives which brought them to the fair. The quality of the trade visitors received particularly favourable assessment. Two thirds of dealers coming to this year’s Ambiente were again from middle and top management, and thus had the essential authority to purchase.
On the visitor side, Ambiente this year saw numbers increase both from Germany and abroad, especially from Italy (up 17 percent), France (up 17 percent), Great Britain (up 13 percent) and Russia (just under 50 percent). In all, about 42 percent of visitors (2006: 40 percent) came to Ambiente from abroad. “The mood among the international customers can almost be called euphoric”, is how Thorsten Klapproth, Chairman of the Management Board of WMF AG, describes the five days of Ambiente.
In all, the trade is giving a positive summing up: once again 95 percent of trade visitors were satisfied, or even extremely satisfied, with the way the fair had gone. Thomas Grothkopp, General Manager of the German Association for Tableware, Housewares and Home Accessories (Bundesverband für den gedeckten Tisch, Hausrat und Wohnkultur e.V.) can confirm this, particularly for the specialist trade in Germany. “From the trade visitors’ point of view, Ambiente was a great success: it featured a wide variety of products, and all the main providers, all the market leaders, were there. Good Christmas business and an improving economic situation mean the specialist trade can order more confidently again and take charge of new product ranges, to position themselves better in the competition for consumers’ budgets.”
Gerhard Frank, Head of Marketing Services at Zwiesel Kristallglas AG, also confirms the return of confidence in the trade, shown by an interest in individual, high-class product ranges. “The mood is good, and people are buying innovatively: more daring products, and higher-priced ones. Products made in Germany have a positive image, particularly at international level.”
Among suppliers of small electrical appliances it was also obvious that the trade was open in its response to product innovations and was exploiting the stimulus towards modern range design. Thus, for Heinz Werner Ochs, General Secretary of Pro Business ElektroHausgeräte e.V, Ambiente offers the ideal environment for electronic-appliance providers. “We made a considerable commitment to our presentation in the run-up to Ambiente 2007, and it has been entirely worth it. Our achievement has been recognised. We already had a good deal of success last year, but this year we attained everything we wanted. The quality of the visitors was extremely high, and our meetings went very well and effectively. We are very happy in an environment of kitchen and household products and would like to keep this in future.” The booming electrical-appliance segment also drew enthusiastic comment from new exhibitors in this area. Michael Geisler, National Sales Director for Home Appliances at Grundig Intermedia GmbH, describes it as follows: “We are very happy with the frequency of visitors here at Ambiente, both national and international, and we have received good feedback.” This assessment is echoed by Wolfgang Rieber, Managing Director of Melitta Haushaltsprodukte GmbH & Co. KG: “We are very satisfied with our presentation at Ambiente 2007, had very good meetings and made interesting new contacts, particularly international ones. We have absolutely no doubt that we shall be exhibiting again in this environment next year.” “The electrical segment has scored a success in Frankfurt”, is how Messe Frankfurt’s Dr. Peters sums it up.
That success in the trade is defined in terms of innovation and quality, not price, could also be seen in the way nobody talked about the rise in VAT. “The atmosphere at Ambiente is positive, VAT fears already forgotten; when it comes to products in these price segments, it’s not a problem”, says Robert van Loosen, head of marketing at Fackelmann GmbH & Co. KG. And Guido H. Heuvelmann, sales and marketing manager at Zippo GmbH, makes the matter quite clear: “Subjects such as the rise in VAT were of no importance. This Ambiente was better than ever, and the willingness of the big traders to place orders was really fantastic.”
“We are drawing a lot of encouragement from this fair. You can see much more optimism than you could over the last few years, and this applies to Germany, too”, says Dr. Hans-Georg Franke, Chairman of the Management Board of Leifheit AG. So, too, Bernd G. Ehrengart, Managing Director of Lambert GmbH: “We have seen a high level of visitors from abroad. Traders are less nervous than in previous years. They want quality, not quantity, and are increasingly looking beyond new products to find inspiration for their own sales presentations.”
 Along with the latest product lines from the manufacturing industry, the very strong presence at Ambiente of major design awards, with a national and international profile, was also an important source of inspiration for the trade world-wide. Apart from the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany the DesignPlus Award, this year saw the presentation of the Silver Triennial for the first time at Ambiente. Visitors could also see the Products of the Year from the competition for plastic products.
“Ambiente goes City” – Frankfurt trade as trendsetter
Following its successful debut in the previous year, in 2007 Messe Frankfurt collaborated for the second time with CityForum ProFrankfurt: under the heading “Frankfurt goes City”, and concurrently with the biggest consumer-goods fair in the world, 40 Frankfurt shops showed exclusive top products from Ambiente. “The ‘Ambiente goes City’ campaign not only stimulates customers’ interests in these new products. It also offers the Frankfurt trade an opportunity to position itself among its customers as an absolute trendsetter”, says Peters.
Dining Trends
All so green …
Green – the trend colour of the summer can be seen in the widest variety of gradations across all materials and segments, from the well-laid table, to home accessories, to the kitchen. Shades of pink provide additional summer colours. Nature as a theme for decoration and natural materials are a further trend which is clearly perceptible, and one which is also to be found right across the various segments. Wellness is a subject which is becoming increasingly important in the private sphere, expressing itself in a range of products from fragrances for the living room, to the appropriate accessories for the kitchen.
Living Trends
High-quality, natural and easy to clean
When it comes to furnishings, the trend is definitely further towards quality rather than quantity. The demand is for high-quality materials, good finishing and timeless design. In contrast to the previous ethnic trend, the strong influence of various cultures, such as Asia and Africa, is reflected not at a one-to-one level, as component elements of an exotic kind, but is given a new interpretation in an original way, combined with the European tradition. Natural materials are still very much in vogue, but once again they can be easier-to-clean. Particularly in the outdoor segment, along with aluminium, high-quality plastic meshworks are permissible, and woods are given modern nano-coatings.
When it comes to colours, this year the focus is on white – either on its own, or with black graphic patters. According to the producers, strong green and red mixed with yellow will still be giving a bright shine this year. But the experts say this era will be over at autumn. Then blue and turquoise will come more to the fore.
Giving Trends
Brilliant rather than familiar
What is wanted are brilliant ideas for well-known products: for example, original plastic sheeting instead of traditional wallpaper for your home, stick-on messages such as “This is my day” for the mirror, loudspeaker units with personal photographs on them, or embossing stamps which leave personal notes on vases, cards or other products. Classical elegance is important again, both in the jewellery and the decoration segments. Clear shapes and simple lines are signs of a new minimalism. White, in combination with pastel and brown tones, provides lightness and freshness. The trend – not just a virtual trend, but in the classical sense too − is also strongly for poker, bingo and associated themes. And really stylish gamblers look for such products as poker cases and poker chips, plus the associated table requisites.
Ambiente – International Frankfurt Fair 2008 will be held from 8 to 12 February.
With just under 8,000 trade visitors, Tuesday 13 February 2007 saw the close of the third Asianliving, Trade Fair for Original Lifestyle Products and Consumer Goods, after four days. Some 250 suppliers from China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Taiwan and Vietnam showed both exclusive Asian handicrafts and low-priced high-volume products. Once again, the concept of holding Asianliving concurrently with the leading international trade fair Ambiente, and at the Offenbach Fair & Exhibition Centre, which is just a few kilometres away, proved well founded: more than 80 percent of trade visitors surveyed took up the offer of combining their visit to Ambiente with a visit to Asianliving. Asianliving in Offenbach will be held again in 2008 concurrently with Ambiente. The date is 9 to 12 February 2008.
Ambiente
www.ambiente.messefrankfurt.com
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