16.01.2010 Optimistic atmosphere at Heimtextil 2010

• More visitors: 72,000 visitors – international growth (6 %)
  
  
• Sustainability, creativity, design and quality in demand

The 40th Heimtextil in Frankfurt ended on a highly positive note for the 2010 business year. 72,000 trade visitors from more than 120 countries took advantage of the leading international trade fair for home and contract textiles to replenish their stocks and to gain fresh inspration for the new season. Heimtextil 2010 presented the latest products and trends of 2,521 exhibitors from 60 countries in Frankfurt am Main from 13 to 16 January.

“This year’s Heimtextil was a complete success. Despite the difficult situation in the textile industry and the retail market, the fair was not only distinguished by a stable number of exhibitors but also by an increase in the number of visitors”, said a delighted Detlef Braun, Member of the Board of Management of Messe Frankfurt. The atmosphere at Heimtextil 2010 was also very good. “The mood among participants was highly optimistic. They are fed up with tales of woe and were prepared to make active use of the fair to boost business by beginning the new year with fresh products, concepts and themes”, added Detlef Braun.

This was confirmed by Bernd Kout, Deputy Chairman of the Associa-tion of the German Home Textile Industry (Verband der Deutschen Heimtextilien-Industrie e.V.): “We all came to Heimtextil 2010 with bated breath and have been more than pleasantly surprised. The overseas markets, in particular, no longer seem to be shell shocked and customers understand that they must do something if they are to hold their own in the market place.”

“We are very pleased with this year’s event”, said Hugues-Arnaud Mayer, Director General of Abeil SA, France. And he underscored the importance of taking part in the fair for the market: “A new Heimtextil was born. Not only because there were more visitors compared to the difficult last year but also in terms of its atmosphere. There was more solidarity among the companies, in the sense of ‘You survived, we survived. We’re all in the same boat!’ However, what makes Heimtextil so successful is the high level of internationality. When we come here, we don’t come to Germany – we come to the international home-textile sector.”

Greater internationality than ever before – Heimtextil a driving force for the global textile sector
This assessment is confirmed by the statistics for the event, which has continued to gain in significance, particularly in international terms. Not only on the exhibitor side is the proportion from outside Germany very high at 85 percent. The event has also grown in terms of internationality on the visitor side. While the number of German visitors remained stable compared to 2009 at over 25,000, there was an increase of six percent in the number from abroad. “Heimtextil has more than clearly underscored its position as the opening event of the business year for the global textile world”, adds Detlef Braun.

This year, 65 percent of visitors came from outside Germany. Of the exhibitors, 2,140 were foreign companies. After Germany, the best represented exhibitor nations included Turkey, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Portugal. Asian exhibitors came primarily from India, China, Pakistan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Breathe a sigh of relief! The worst appears to be over
Heimtextil visitors and exhibitors took a significantly more positive view of the current economic situation than a year ago. 71 percent of both exhibitors and visitors said they considered the situation to be satisfactory to good. Last year, this standpoint was taken by only 56 percent of exhibitors and 66 percent of visitors.

Thus, the worst appears to be over for the extremely networked international textile sector that, in the wake of the worldwide economic crisis, suffered dramatic declines in sales and export figures in many segments. Particularly important production nations, such as Italy, Spain, Turkey, China and India, were hard hit. Demand also collapsed on the trade side as a result of the crisis, especially in the USA and Europe.

Marcus Kevin, CEO of MBTM-Products, Finland, considers the climate in the sector to have improved: “This is our first time at Heimtextil and our expectations have been exceeded, particularly with regard to the difficult economic situation. Heimtextil is a good barometer for the business climate in our sector and optimism was widespread. We were very surprised at the high level of international participation here in Frankfurt and were able to make many more international contacts than expected with even more from overseas than from Europe.”

Quality, design, creativity and sustainability the key to recovery
Themes, products and ideas to counteract last year’s difficulties with creativity and specific solutions were in demand. Particularly well received in this connection was the Trend Forum, an elaborate special area showing the trends for 2010 / 2011 using products of Heimtextil exhibitors. The expert team of six renowned designers from six coun-tries prepared four trend themes – from Eco de Luxe to spontaneous creativity, from simplicity distinguished by high quality to the contrast between reality and fantasy.

The demand for quality, design, creativity and sustainability also grew with respect to the products on show at the fair with wallpaper, sun-protection systems, contract textiles and design being especially sought after. The level of visitor interest in these product groups rose by up to five percent. “Wallpaper was the driving force of Heimtextil 2010 and visitors were bubbling over with enthusiasm for this product group”, said Hubertus Nocker of Decor-Union GmbH & Co. KG.

Heimtextil goes City
On the Saturday of the fair, 16 January, consumers also had the chance to get a foretaste of the textile trends for the coming season. The ‘Heimtextil goes City’ initiative of Messe Frankfurt and the Guild of Interior Decorators (Raumausstatterinnung), Frankfurt am Main, took new products from the trade fair to the city centre. 30 specialist retailers, galleries and public institutes presented textiles in all walks of life and culture and gave practical tips for the home.

The next Heimtextil in Frankfurt will be held from 12 to 15 January 2011.