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With an increase of around three percent in the number of visitors, Heimtextil 2015 in Frankfurt am Main once again ensured the new furnishing season got off to a successful start. A good 68,000 trade visitors (2014: 66,265) were very pleased with the high quality of the products and designs, and kept exhibitors busy throughout the fair. The 2,759 exhibitors from 68 countries (2014: 2,714 from 62 countries) were no less delighted with the orders placed by buyers. The further increase in the level of internationality – from 87 to 88 percent on the exhibitor side and from 67 to 68 percent on the visitor side – also ranks as a success factor for the trade fair.

Particularly high level of satisfaction among international exhibitors
The good figures were also confirmed by the very positive results of both the visitor and exhibitor polls. 95 percent of all visitors achieved their goals for the fair (an increase of two percent compared to 2014), which underscores the high standard of the companies exhibiting at Heimtextil.

There were particularly large increases in the number of European visitors from Great Britain, Italy and Spain. From the Arabian Peninsula, more visitors came from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. An increased number of visitors also made their way to Frankfurt from overseas nations, such as Japan and the USA. As expected, there was a decline in the visitor numbers from the Ukraine and Russia.

New 'Theme Park' trend area a great attraction
The new Heimtextil 'Theme Park' in Hall 4.0 proved to be a highly popular highlight – in the heart of the fair: "A clear and good trend show", said Soizic Gilibert, proprietor and designer of Cosmic Zoo design studio from France. "I was able to gain valuable inspiration from the installations. Particularly interesting for me were the ethnic themes and the wide range of exhibitor fabrics." In addition to the main parts, such as the 'Material Gallery' and the 'Colour Pavilion', particular interest was shown in the themed installations, such as the seven-metre high foot spa for the 'hospitality' segment and a 3D printer for making carpets in the 'Technology Lab'. Virtual-reality glasses for the retail sector also offered new perspectives by showing ways in which retailers can present textiles virtually and thus create a symbiosis between online and offline sales.
Journalists, bloggers and designers took advantage of the chance to speak with the designers working and exhibiting in the ‘Theme Park’. Architects were fascinated by the proportions and the design of the rooms, and how exhibitor products could be used as part of the architecture. Buyers had the opportunity to look through a selection of 1,500 innovative fabrics that were spread around the entire ‘Theme Park’.” The lectures and the cinema were also very well attended while the ‘Theme Park’ was a lively meeting place for everyone wanting to exchange ideas and information with their colleagues.

Premium segment for the bed, bathroom and table
The premium products in Hall 11 were a source of exclusiveness, structure and orientation at Heimtextil 2015. The exhibitors in this hall made wonderful presentations and were able to reach their target group. “This was the first time we have shown our new product line, ‘CF by Christian Fischbacher’ at a fair”, explained Sonja Gfeller, Managing Director of Bed Linen, Christian Fischbacher Co. AG. “This enabled us to attract many visitors who like this style. Indeed, many of them spontaneously took photos of our stand, which was great. The models used to show the uncomplicated joie de vivre of ‘CF by Christian Fischbacher’ proved very popular. Bert Sander, CEO of Sander GmbH & Co.KG, was no less pleased: “Four days at Heimtextil – enough material for a whole year! It is almost impossible to see all of the fantastic products at the fair. However, the small part I was able to see once again provided more than enough motivation and inspiration for the coming year. Against this background, the increased number of visitors is hardly surprising and I would advise anyone in the business to reserve at least two days for their visit, to benefit fully from the leading international trade fair for our sector.”

“This was our first time at Heimtextil, which we found to be a fair of the highest standard”, explained Frohstoff CEO Jörg Vogt. Continuing, he said, “Here, business is conducted in a very international environment. We welcomed visitors from Spain, the Benelux countries, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Germany, the largest proportion of them wholesalers and buyers from department-store chains.” KAS and David Fussenegger also reported on the fair in positive terms. Karen David, Managing Director of KAS Australia, said, “It was a good fair. The visitors came from all over the world and the standard was very high, too.” Confirming this, Thomas Griessmayer of David Fussenegger Textil said, “There were lots of visitors to our stand. As expected, we welcomed all key accounts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was a good opportunity to show our products. Some retailers placed orders on the spot. We can certainly say it has been a successful fair.”

Wallpaper a trend theme
The busy Hall 3.1 once again offered a transparent and inspiring ambience for international wallpaper companies. A satisfied Philippe Desart, CEO of Arte NV, said, “It was good to be at Heimtextil 2015 because it is an important place to ‘meet and greet’ the wallpaper sector.” There, visitors encountered an incomparable selection of creative, innovative and exclusive products from the ‘wall’ segment. Customers have long since recognised that wallpaper is a very effective way of changing the whole atmosphere of a room for relatively little effort. Thus, the popularity of wallpaper is on an unstoppable upward curve. Reflecting the design presentations at the ’Theme Park’, Hall 3.1 was also the setting for a trend installation on the ‘wall’, a supplementary source of inspiration and information coupled with specific application examples for this segment.

Interaction and inspiration unlimited for the retail trade
As in the past, Heimtextil 2015 was also characterised by a wide-ranging programme aimed at the retail trade and interior decorators, which included not only the outstanding ‘Heimtextil Insider’ and ‘Bed’n Excellence’ visitor programmes but also numerous lectures, guided tours for visitors, award ceremonies and trend areas. In Hall 3.0, the Decoteam showed practical examples for decorating with the latest textiles. Birgit Schlenker of Decoteam was very pleased with the positive echo: “For us, the fair has been extremely good. We presented two trend themes, ‘Urban Chic’ and ‘Country Chic’, which proved to be very popular. The absolute highlight was our Trend Workshop, which gave visitors the chance to learn about the trends at the world’s biggest trade fair for the home-textile sector and put them straight into practice when they get home. We had an amazing crowd of visitors and the mood was super!”
At Webchance Academy 2.0, visitors could choose from a seminar and lecture programme covering the subjects of online business and marketing. The lectures ranged from a general introduction for e-commerce newcomers to detailed discussions for retailers with prior knowledge.

Heike Fritsche, Director of the German Interior Decoration Association (Zentralverband Raum und Ausstattung – ZVR), underscored the significance of Heimtextil for the interior-decoration sector: “Thanks to its unrivalled range of products, Heimtextil is a must for the interior-decoration sector. As at previous editions of the fair, we welcomed many visitors wanting to find out more about the vital subjects of quality, service and sustainability to our exhibition stand in Hall 5.1. A special highlight for our association was the première of the Knowledge Forum, a new lecture platform for expertise and discussion, which we initiated in cooperation with the German Association of Sworn Experts for Interior Decoration (Bundesverband der vereidigten Sachverständigen für Raum und Ausstattung e.V. – BSR). The Forum will be continued with different themes in the future. Moreover, our location at Heimtextil was the perfect setting for sun-protection systems.” This was confirmed by Christian Sandkühler, Marketing Manager, Kadeco: “Heimtextil is the fair for interior decorators, our main customer target group, who account for around 80 percent of our sales. We also welcomed customers from Europe, many of whom are interested in the contract business. We presented our new plissé collections, as well as numerous technical modifications and improvements in detail. Many of our new products were also to be seen in the ‘Theme Park’.

Design Live – the biggest platform for textile design
Around 200 international studios presented their latest ideas at ‘Design Live’ in Hall 4.2, and once again formed the world’s biggest platform for textile design. All profited from the central position of the exhibition hall and from the great international interest in the unrivalled spectrum of designs to be seen. Said Shohreh, proprietor and designer of Shohreh Textildesign, was very pleased with the visitor response and the course of business at the fair. “The concept for this hall is right. My new designs are primarily graphic, floral and structural, and they were well received. Some customers even spoke to me during the setting-up phase. This year, there were fewer customers from Russia. Most came from Japan, China, the USA, Great Britain, the Benelux countries and Germany.” Alistair Boyd, proprietor and designer of the eponymous label was also very pleased with the high level of international interest: “Customers from department stores from South America, New York and San Franc

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