29.01.2010 Combined fairs on trend: trade-fair quartet starts the year 2010 for the consumer goods market

In times of crisis it's the small-scale luxuries that matter

One-stop shopping in Frankfurt am Main: from 29 January to 2 February 2010, 3,438 exhibitors from 67 countries will be showcasing the trends for the new year. The international consumer-goods fairs Paperworld, Christmasworld, Beautyworld and Hair & Beauty will exhibit the new products for the coming season – everything to do with paper, office supplies, stationery and festive decoration as well as head-to-toe beauty and cosmetics.

These trade fairs, which seem, at first glance, very different, in fact offer wholesalers and retailers attractive synergies. "Combined fairs are one of the coming things in the trade-fair business. It has become imperative for the wholesale and retail trades to look beyond the confines of their own horizons, to be successful. Sooner or later it is only those who have the edge in terms of information that will also have the competitive edge," says Dr. Michael Peters, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt GmbH. There are particular synergies to be found between the two leading international trade fairs Paperworld and Christmasworld and equally between the two beauty fairs, Beautyworld and Hair and Beauty. However, those trade fairs which initially seem to be thematically unrelated also offer trade visitors added value. For instance, Paperworld is equally appealing to buyers at the beauty fairs. Wrapping paper and carrier bags, for instance, are of particular interest to them.