imm cologne news

The imm cologne ended on Sunday, 24th January 2010 with a positive closing balance. Despite being shortened by a day, the fair managed to equal the previous year’s result with around 100,000 visitors. The number of exhibitors even slightly exceeded last year’s level. From Koelnmesse’s perspective, the high expectations of the imm cologne as one of the most important fairs for the international furniture and interior design sector have thus been met.

“The exhibitors have used their innovativeness to brave the crisis and been rewarded by doing good business,” says Koelnmesse’s CEO Gerald Böse. “Cologne is the business forum for the industry,” concludes the head of the trade fair company. The positive mood that prevailed in the halls for the entire duration of the fair was also emphasised by Dirk-Uwe Klaas: “This was by far the most successful furniture show for years. In the midst of the crisis, trade visitors and end consumers alike have given us impressive confirmation that the imm cologne has regained its former strength,” says the chief executive of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (Verband der Deutschen Möbelindustrie, VDM). As announced last Friday, Koelnmesse and the VDM as non-material sponsor of the imm cologne have extended their contract long-term to continue this successful collaboration beyond the scope of the imm cologne 2010.

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Home trends at the beginning of 2010: At home indoors and out. (photo: Flötotto; Regalsystem 355)

Homing is experiencing a boom. Despite or perhaps precisely because of the financial crisis, people are quite happy to spend their time at home, where they have the freedom to design their surroundings however they like and are master of all they survey.

Living means spending an average of 340 days a year in one and the same place: home. People are spending substantial amounts of time in their eat-in kitchens, home cinemas and private spas. On top of that, the latest interior design and furniture trends promise to bring new impetus and a new sense of fun to the way we furnish, design and live in our homes. And the individualisation trend that has been holding its own for years continues unbroken.

As a result, people are attaching growing importance to original, perhaps even unique furnishings – not only in their indoor living space, but in the way they design their garden, balcony or terrace as well. The last season saw above-average investments in this segment. And – especially if predictions of a sunny 2010 prove true – it seems more than likely that sales of garden furniture will continue to grow.

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Why is imm cologne a top event for exhibitors and trade visitors that you definitely must attend? We asked manufacturers, designers, retailers, commercial agents and architects.

Jens Wolff, CEO of CDH | For us this is the most important tradeshow for the furniture industry, where we can help exhibitors and visitors find distributors in Germany thus providing our members with an important and valuable service. Nowhere else is the support from the exhibition organisers as extensive as it is at imm cologne. But most importantly, the exhibition’s enormous importance and its excellent promotion in terms of attracting visitors helps us to get in touch with many sales representatives who are not yet members of CDH.

Claus Anstoetz, CEO, BW Bielefelder Werkstätten and Interprofil | We present almost all of the innovations from BW Bielefelder Werkstätten and Interprofil at imm cologne, because it gives us the best environment for displaying our products. It is always a pleasant start to the current business year.

Markus Benz, CEO Walter Knoll AG & Co. KG | imm cologne ranks among the most important furniture fairs worldwide. For manufacturers from Northern Europe it is the most important platform to present their novelties. It, thus, holds a strong attractiveness for retailers, architects and end customers.

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Boulevard of Innovations offers an interior design show of an entirely different stripe.

Wandering along the Boulevard at imm cologne you can take in new developments and exciting innovations at your leisure.

There is no quicker and simpler way to take in the latest highlights from the leading manufacturers out of the enormous overall offerings.

In this exhibition the pinnacles of cutting edge design are displayed, along with all the products that have been nominated for the interior innovation award, as well as the prize winning designs.

D³ Design talents offers a space for young, creative talents in hall 3.1. A new generation of designers will be presenting innovations and visionary concepts for the future of domestic living.

An abundance of inspired – and at times provocative – designs will provide a great deal of inspiration and lots of fresh ideas for the interior design of tomorrow.

The success of this format can be seen by the many designers who have been discovered here by internationally renowned companies and whose designs have gone on to become part of exclusive collections. D³ Design talents is both a taste of things to come and a springboard for a career in design.

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The 2010 year in furniture begins on January19 at imm cologne with an explosion of trends, new products and inspirational exhibition design all centred around the theme of living and interior design.

Here, you are directly in the centre of a thriving market, here, business is made. There are many good reasons why you should be there, when Cologne is again home to all things design, trends and business.

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For more than 50 years, the imm cologne has been one of the most important furniture fairs in the world. The upholstery segment is the leading light of the event. As such, it is given high priority by the imm cologne, covering approximately one third of the occupied space. The imm cologne showcases the entire spectrum of upholstered furniture, from starter sofas to premium design products.

No other international show provides such an in-depth and comprehensive overview of the new trends in the international upholstered furniture industry, as well as the accompanying services and marketing concepts. With more than 100,000 visitors and its unique mix of national and international professionals, consumers and other multipliers such as architects and designers, the imm cologne represents an ideal combination of supply and demand.

In the Cologne furniture fair’s biggest sub-section – the “Comfort” segment in Halls 4.1, 5, 6 and 10 – the German upholstered furniture industry is prominently represented. Firms like Himolla, Elastoform, Steinhoff, Koinor, Polipol/Zehdenick, Machalke, Frommholz, Willi Schillig and Ewald Schillig, will be presenting convincing proof of the German upholstered furniture industry’s innovative potency.

A host of new German and international exhibitors and returnees will also be joining the Comfort segment at the imm cologne 2010. Candy, Carina and FM Munzer will be attending the Cologne show for the first time, joined by companies like Hukla, Ponsel, Nordica, Natuzzi, Hjellegjerde, Molinari and Hans Kaufeld, who will be participating in the trade fair again next January.

But upholstered furniture isn’t only on show in the Comfort segment: it plays an important role in the Pure section too. Cor, Cassina, Walter Knoll and De Sede will be showing their innovations in Hall 11 alongside firms like Rolf Benz or Brühl & Sippold.

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Life in the home is changing. The distinctions between kitchen and living room and between bathroom and bedroom are becoming increasingly fluid. Factors such as lighting, textiles and accessories are becoming more significant in the new furnishing worlds. As a furnishings trade fair, Pure Village (hall 3.2) at imm cologne 2010 will impressively present these trend themes.

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Dirk-Uwe Klaas, CEO of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM)

For Dirk-Uwe Klaas, CEO of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM) in Bad Honnef, it’s obvious why home styling has finally been discovered as the latest hot topic: “People spend approx. 340 days a year in their own home. That’s why an increasing number of people are coming to see home as a place for self-fulfilment. Nowhere else can you indulge your own tastes as freely as in your own four walls.”

Cars instead of sofas – a lean period for German furniture manufacturers
But even if home styling has become a cult – is it actually still possible to make money with furniture in the face of shrinking private budgets and the massively subsidised bargains available on the automotive market right now? At first glance, the German furniture industry’s half-yearly figures indicate a resounding “no”. With sales of 7.6 billion euros, German furniture manufacturers were an alarming 13.8 percent or 1.2 billion euros down on the previous year’s figure.

However, in view of the unique economic situation right now, any serious answer to the profitability question must take account of figures from earlier years as well. Back in 2008, for instance, the results painted a very different picture: furniture producers ended the year with growth of 1.6 percent. Although there was a slight decline in domestic sales, this was more than offset by export growth of 4.3 percent as compared to the previous year.

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Cecilie Manz, Marcus Fairs, Johanna Grawunder, Giulio Ridolfo and Bertjan Pot (f.l.t.r.) Photo: Koelnmesse; Lutz Sternstein

Every summer, five or six renowned designers get together in the tower block of Cologne exhibition centre for an unusual workshop that culminates in a prognosis of the most important developments in interior design: the Trend Book with the interior trends of the coming year. Every year, the Trendboard convened by the imm cologne brings together product designers, architects, material specialists and journalists who are regarded as internationally acknowledged authorities on design and are successful at international level. The Trendboard line-up changes every year and represents several nationalities and disciplines.

This year, materials specialist Giulio Ridolfo and journalist Marcus Fairs ensure the desired continuity. Giulio Ridolfo, a designer and textile consultant from Italy’s creative stronghold Udine, made a name for himself with his unusual works for the likes of Patricia Urquiola.

London author Marcus Fairs’ reputation is founded on his online magazine dezeen. New impulses came from American architect and interior designer Johanna Grawunder, whose work in the field of product design includes exclusive and colourful limited editions, and Cecilie Manz, a young and successful designer from Denmark with an excellent instinct for materials and colours. Dutch designer Bertjan Pot, the third new face on this year’s Trendboard, is also part of the young, successful generation of designers that is currently accelerating the pace of change in the design scene.

As in previous years, the Trendboard was accompanied by Andrej Kupetz, managing director of the Frankfurt-based German Design Council since 1999.

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