On 22nd January 2012, the imm cologne and LivingInteriors drew to a close in Cologne with a very good result. For seven days, 1,157 companies from 54 countries showed the interior design trends of the coming year. Including estimates for the last day of the show, the trade fair duo lured 115,000 visitors to Cologne. “Cologne is the key business platform for the global furniture economy – as this trade fair has once again impressively demonstrated,” sums up Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse. “This year we were bang on course. We had more exhibitors, were more international – the Italian contingent was stronger than it had been for a long time – and visitors got to see lots of genuinely new products. All in all, a result like this means we are again playing at the very top of the furniture sector’s premier league,” continues Böse.
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With his statement “This year’s furniture fair exceeded our expectations yet again,” Dirk Uwe Klaas, Chief Executive of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (Verband der Deutschen Möbelindustrie), came to a similar conclusion. “With this kind of momentum, 2012 may well be a very good year for furniture- and as far as Germany is concerned, our furniture industry may well become the engine that drives consumption,” adds the Chief Executive.
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A total of 115,000 visitors came to the metropolis on the Rhine – 14 percent more than at the last comparable event in 2010, even without LivingKitchen. With foreign visitors accounting for 42 percent (based on the trade visitor days), the imm cologne was once again a very international trade fair. Firstly, there were far more buyers from Europe, especially from the Russian Federation and Italy, and secondly, there was a slight increase in the number of visitors from North America and Asia. The Public Days were also very well attended. Around 40,000 consumers came to seek inspiration from the interior worlds on show. “We see this result as proof that our many and varied activities, aimed not only at national and international trade visitors but at consumers as well, have been successful,” says Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. “The imm cologne 2012 has thus established itself as an order-writing and information platform,” continues the COO.
Trends for 2012
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* The major trend theme is nature. Natural-looking and natural materials exude a sense of honesty and authenticity. Solid wood and veneer furniture is just as popular as parquet flooring. As for covering fabrics, real leather, lots of wool and wool felt are popular, the latter often knitted.
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* Furniture is getting smaller. A growing number of single people are living in smaller spaces and need petite and multifunctional furniture. As various areas of the home merge, furniture has to be light and flexible because it is used wherever it happens to be needed at any given time rather than remaining in the same place for years on end. This not only includes smaller upholstered furniture, but small desks and bureaus as well, because the communication technology we use is getting smaller too.
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* Wall units are becoming ever more compact and slender. The chunky TV is increasingly being replaced by an elegant flatscreen model, and thanks to digitised information, contemporary customers no longer need so much storage space. LED lighting technology has arrived in the furniture and interior design sector where, besides providing energy-saving lighting, it is being used to create lots of colourful atmosphere as well.
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Kitchens set to return to Cologne in 2013
In 2013, the international kitchen trade show LivingKitchen® will be held in Cologne parallel to the imm cologne. The international kitchen fair is an independent event held every two years. It has three Public Days and brings together renowned national and international exhibitors from the entire kitchen industry. LivingKitchen® thus not only shows kitchen furnishings and built-in appliances but sinks, taps, sophisticated kitchen worktops and kitchen accessories, lighting and kitchen-related services as well. With a year still to go until the event, 90 registrations have already been received and more than 60% of the planned space has already been reserved.
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The imm cologne // LivingInteriors in figures
1,037 companies from 54 countries took part in the imm cologne 2012, with 65 percent of exhibitors coming from outside Germany. 120 companies participated in LivingInteriors 2012. In total, 1,157 companies exhibited at imm cologne // LivingInteriors. The amount of space occupied amounted to 240,000 m².
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