imm cologne news

International experts agree: when it comes to relaxing furniture with majority appeal, Germany’s upholstered furniture manufacturers are important innovators. In terms of ever more sophisticated comfort functions, new upholstery creations like the dinner sofa or environmentally compatible seating ensembles of the kind created by talented designer and EU award-winner Kati Meyer-Brühl, Germany is the benchmark for upholstery producers the world over.

Upholstery hub imm cologne
From 19-24 January 2010, trade visitors from all continents will be able to see this innovativeness for themselves at the imm cologne. Sofa manufacturers from Wervik to Singapore will be vying with German manufacturers to make their mark in the Cologne furniture fair’s biggest sub-section, the “Comfort” segment in Halls 5, 6 and 10.

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The average German only replaces his sofa with a new one every 8-12 years. Don’t you sometimes wish there was a scrapping incentive for furniture too?
We in the furniture industry aren’t calling for subsidies – we just want equal treatment for all sectors. Instead of getting people to scrap their cars, the politicians ought to be scrapping taxes for normal citizens and SMEs so they’ve got more money left in their pockets and budgets at the end of the month – money they can use however they see fit.

The imm cologne’s Trendboard is anticipating a return to more quality consciousness as a response to the economic crisis. Is “real” quality actually still affordable these days?
We’re living in a time when people are refraining from quick consumption again so yes, you could say people have started to change their mentality. They’re becoming more sensitive to how we use the world’s resources and looking for things that promise value and durability again. That’s why there’s an increasing demand for sustainability and value in our industry too. For earlier generations it was normal not to follow every furniture or clothing fashion or go along with every new style that came out. Then there was a period of rapid and changing consumption. The pleasure was often short-lived and the products interchangeable.

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Hans Strothoff, President of the Federal Association of Kitchen, Furniture & Furnishing Retailers (BVDM)

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me begin with a few remarks about the concept presented by Mr. Böse. I am delighted that we now have a blueprint that will ensure the continuing presence of a major international furniture trade fair in Germany. The establishment of one’s own kitchen trade fair, which is held every two years, in parallel to the imm cologne – that is really the only way to go. Here, it is important that fitted units, sinks and fittings are also represented, because these items are inextricably linked to the kitchen and constitute an essential part of the added value of a kitchen. From the perspective of both the dealer and the customer, it is absolutely essential that they should be presented alongside kitchen furniture.

It is my firm belief that the kitchen sector will be strongly represented in Cologne in 2011, more strongly than has been the case for many years. Following my discussions with manufacturers, I am confident that around 90 per cent of German production volume will be represented in Cologne. All of these discussions were very rewarding, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the companies involved for the open and constructive atmosphere in which these talks took place. They were also marked by a pronounced sense of responsibility for the sector as a whole.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is especially the dealers – and, by that, I mean German trade dealers of kitchen and interior fittings – who need a strong trade fair. And they need one here in Germany. A trade fair at home provides important signals and new stimulus for domestic consumption. A good example of this is Frankfurt’s International Motor Show, the IAA. Despite its very poor sales figures, the automobile industry is enjoying a huge media presence right now. By increasing access to our trade fair for the end consumer – through three open days for the public – we will guarantee a much greater media interest. And this interest will also be boosted by the various supporting programmes.

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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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Ever since the awkward eco-fashion designer Miguel Adrover became the latest worldwide craze and insider tip and designed the autumn collection 2008 for the conventional German natural fashion mail-order company Hessnatur, it has been clear: Sustainability has developed into a boundless mega trend.

This is a fact that Vereinigte Möbeleinkaufs-GmbH & Co. KG is well aware of. With its new line “Woods & Trends” based on solid wood furniture, the industry player from Bielefeld is reacting to the fact that more and more consumers want ecologically manufactured lifestyle products. And these are already plentiful in the furnishings world – unlike in other industries. They can be seen at imm cologne from 19 to 25 January 2009.

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The Japanese cultivate a delicate minimalism. The Americans like heavy furniture with a colonial look. The Italians love low horizontal lines and gleaming fronts. And the Germans insist on an abundance of ingenious storage space. Is this actually true? Are these style pigeonholes still applicable? This question is best answered at imm cologne from 19 to 25 January 2009. Renowned lounge and bedroom manufacturers from regions all over the world will exhibit their wares under the sub-brand imm prime and imm prime design in halls 2.2, 3.2, 4.2 and 3.1 of the international furniture trade fair held in Cologne.

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Despite the financial crisis and its current effects on the economy, the German furniture industry sees an opportunity to increase the status of homes and furnishings in these difficult times. Whenever people feel extremely insecure, their own home and the sense of security and safety connected with their own four walls assume a higher status. Only the furniture industry can satisfy this feeling now, and thereby bring furniture higher up the ranking list of personal desires. In addition, furniture as a valuable and life-long consumer item represents a long-lasting and reliable investment.

The figures and statistics seen since the summer provide evidence that this hope is not entirely without foundation. In the otherwise extremely different 3rd quarter of the year, in which almost no other industry branch escaped unscathed, growth of 1.5 percent was realised.

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