Ambiente, the world“s biggest consumer-goods fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, which closed its doors on Tuesday, 22 February, said it recorded an increase in visitor numbers. With 127,000 trade vi…
Ambiente, the world“s biggest consumer-goods fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, which closed its doors on Tuesday, 22 February, said it recorded an increase in visitor numbers. With 127,000 trade visitors from around 120 countries, around 3% more buyers than last year attended the five-day fair. According to the organizers, Messe Frankfurt, this growth was primarily the result of greater domestic interest. However, there was also growth in the number of overseas visitors, especially from the USA, Japan and South Korea. Over 25% of all visitors came from outside Germany, the majority of them from Italy, the USA, the Benelux countries, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Spain and Austria. Both exhibitors and the trade gave a positive rating to the course of business at Ambiente, at which 4,905 companies from 80 countries, around half of them from outside Germany, presented dishes, ceramics, furniture, gift articles and jewellery. A good Christmas season and the expectation of a mild economic upturn formed the basis of the positive trend in the German trade. Decisive for the export business, meanwhile, were positive economic developments in the US, recovery in Asia and South America and a relatively weak Euro. According to exhibitor information, the best business was done at the Trade Fairs for the Set Table, Kitchen and Housewares, Country Home and Interior Design. Particular emphasis was given to the willingness of trade visitors to place orders, which reportedly exceeded expectations by a significant margin in some cases. The reasons for this development included a long period of buying restraint that now calls for revitalization in terms of both quantity and quality and topicality. The increasing quality consciousness among consumers was evident in all product groups, but particularly in the Tavola & Cucina section. More expensive, sophisticated quality goods are now favoured over reasonably priced standard items. Satisfaction to high satisfaction ratings among manufacturers and future-oriented businesses are the characteristics that define the mood in this thematic bundle. The tabletop trade is demonstrating its openness towards innovations and commences the year with an optimistic outlook. In addition to the positive start to the year, the uniqueness of the year 2000 and consumer events connected with it – for example an increase in the number of weddings – is contributing to favourable forecasts for the immediate future. As far as glass tableware is concerned, plain, simple shapes continue to dominate the scene. Glass series are unadorned, transparent and designed for wine consumption. Apart from wine, the “bar” theme is showed increasing importance. Glass giftware for the table featured delicate colours. Grey and smoky shades are available as well as silver-coated glasses, in addition to traditional blue, red and orange. In other giftware, one of the prominent product innovations was that of three-dimensional glass-block pictures in a variety of different motifs, manufactured using cutting-edge laser technology. In Interior Design, a lot of opaque, colourful glass was evident in the form of vases and plant pots. Some of these items were double containers, made of opaque glass inside and clear glass outside. Sizes for these kind of accessories are becoming increasingly monumental, with large vases or dishes displacing knick-nacks. Opaque glass was also much in evidence in furniture in combination with Asian-style dark wood. While for the bathroom, translucent tinted glass was preferred for washstands and washbasins. In lighting, large chandeliers were still popular for classic interiors, though they are becoming lighter and more dainty. Tendence – the next consumer-goods fair organized by Messe Frankfurt in Germany – will be held in Frankfurt am Main from 25 to 29 August 2000. The next consumer-goods fairs outside Germany are: Ambiente China 11-13 April, 2000 Ambiente Japan 21-23 June, 2000 Ambiente Rossija 5-8 October, 2000 Ambiente India 5-8 October, 2000