EuroCIS - A success story

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From Febraury 19th to 21st, 2013, EuroCIS will take place in Düsseldorf for the seventh time. In an interview with the EHI Retail Institute, Hans Werner Reinhard, Deputy Managing Director of Messe Dusseldorf, explains how the fair has developed in recent years and what highlights will be presented on this year's EuroCIS.

Mr. Reinhard, EuroCIS has been held annually since 2006. How have the exhibitor and visitor figures developed?

Consistently well. Let me put it this way: the seed we sowed all that time ago has grown into a plant, which is now becoming a tree and bearing plenty of fruit. In the meantime the booked exhibition space has grown from 4,000 m² to over 6,500 m². In 2013 we are expecting probably around 250 exhibitors. And the visitor figures have also consistently risen: Whereas in 2006 it was still just about 4,900, last year around 6,500 trade visitors made their way to Düsseldorf for EuroCIS.

What is the international participation like at EuroCIS? Are there nations which are currently more strongly represented?

Overall, the internationality of EuroCIS has been consistently increasing over the last seven years. Currently 25 countries are represented on the exhibitors' side, in 2006 it was just 15. A large number of suppliers from Europe, the USA and Asia are now making use of EuroCIS in order to present their special IT solutions for retail. After Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands are the strongest nations at EuroCIS 2013.

How can you explain the constant increase in trade fair participation?

The IT sector is the most significant growth sector in retail. The development of modern retail formats and experiences is making rapid advances and with it also the need for investment in terms of Retail Technology, which in turn explains the necessity for a special platform such as EuroCIS. A further reason for the success story of EuroCIS is the fact that with its range it is always geared to the developments and requirements in the retail scene. In this connection, last year we extended its range of products and services for example in the direction of Multi-Channel and E-Commerce, which enabled us to put our finger exactly on the trend of the times. The same also applies for the "Fashion Select Village", in which - this year for the second time already - we have created a platform within EuroCIS for a group of companies which provide individual IT solutions especially for the fashion industry.

What are the highlights of this year's trade fair? What innovations will be shown?

The rapid development in smartphones and tablets in recent years is also reflected at EuroCIS. Correspondingly in the Mobiles section we are expecting a particularly large number of innovations and trend-setting solutions. The integration of web, mobile, social media and over-the-counter business will also be a theme, which will dominate the discussions on many stands. There will however be no lack of innovations in the "classic" retail themes either, such as Supply Chain Management and Business Intelligence as well as in the broad field of POS solutions. Visitors can expect the most exciting EuroCIS we have staged so far.

One highlight is no doubt the continuation of the Multi-Channel Forum, its programme is being organized once again in 2013 by the E-Commerce Center Handel (ECC) at the Institut für Handelsforschung (IFH) Köln (Cologne Institute for Trade Research). The EuroCIS Forum organized by the EHI, has been firmly established for years, but thanks to its highly topical themes, is always a highlight at the trade fair. On all three days of the fair current practical examples, projects and trends covering all aspects of Retail Technology are presented in short lectures by the exhibitors together with their customers.

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