Trade-fair trio begins the new business year in confident mood

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The trio of consumer goods fairs, Paperworld, Creativeworld and Christmasworld begin the new business year from 25 / 26 to 29 January 2013 with confidence. "In a 2013, which continues to be overshadowed by poor economic forecasts, the three sectors - festive and seasonal decoration; paper, office supplies and stationery; and hobby, craft and artists' supplies - will all be building on the foundations of their leading international trade fairs, " says Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt. With a total of 2,967 exhibitors from 66 countries who have signed up to attend, the three fairs are up to the levels of the previous year and remain stable in stormy waters. (Figures for 2012: 2,963 exhibitors from 69 countries.)

Multichannel, new sales paths and the staging of experiences are the central issues in high-street trading as they are, too, for the manufacturers of branded products. "As trade-fair organisers, we are keen to seize new market opportunities for our customers. Hence, we offer our exhibitors and visitors special forums and business programmes that facilitate 'match-making'. In that sense, we represent the most important stimulus for all three sectors, " says Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.

Paperworld: new concept for the halls brings with it product synergies and gets approval from both exhibitors and visitors
"We are especially proud of having managed to attract a number of important brand manufacturers back to Paperworld. The crucial factor in this has been the new hall layout, which points up synergies within product ranges and thus generates new groups of customers, " says Braun. With the new structure, companies such as Mitsubishi, Sigel, Staedtler, Tesa, Troika and Tombow have come back to join us at Paperworld. The result is that the leading international trade fair for paper, office supplies and stationery remains, with its 1,780 prospective exhibitors from 64 countries, at the same level as last year, even in these economically volatile times.

Stimulation for the sector in an attractive complementary programme
The complementary programme, too, has been extended and adapted to the changing conditions. Alongside the many and varied trend shows and special exhibitions, new multi-channel strategies offer additional opportunities in the paper, stationery and office-supplies market. The link between high-street trading and complementary online offers is a crucial competitive factor in an increasingly digital world, " says Marco Atzberger, Member of the Senior Management Team at the EHI Retail Institute. Paperworld is offering a large number of lectures on this topic and, once again, is in a good position to provide stimulus for the sector. Additionally, Assistants, PAs and Secretaries now constitute a new, separate target group and their requirements are being addressed directly with an engaging programme of lectures and guided tours of Paperworld. The Procurement Business Programme for buyers in the public sector is also being extended. The 'Office Gold Club' will be supporting us as a new partner and 16 of its brand manufacturers will be exhibiting their product ranges. To round off the programme, there will also be some interesting lectures and round table discussions, " says Ruth Lorenz, Vice President and Divisional Head at Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH.

Creativeworld: the star in the craftsman's heaven grows in size, bringing together all the key players in the field
Creativeworld can report slight growth in 2013 and, as the smallest fair, is the rising star of the trio. "The continuing boom in DIY and home crafts plays an important role in this; the trend towards individualising one's own clothes and jewellery and creating an imaginatively decorated home continues to be very popular and very fashionable, " says Ruth Lorenz. The new hall layout and the consequent proximity of writing equipment in Hall 4.0 has won approval from exhibitors. Hall 4.1 is fully booked and Messe Frankfurt have brought into operation an additional area for new exhibitors, including Pentel, in Hall 4.0. Creativeworld continues to grow in parallel with the boom in DIY and expects 241 international exhibitors of hobby, craft and artists' supplies. Moreover, all the key players in the sector are represented, including C. Kreul, Marabu, Rayher Hobby, Rico Design and Schmincke.

Christmasworld: reliable driving force in the decorations sector
Glitzy worlds of sensory experiences and elaborate scenarios for every conceivable festival in the year are on offer from the exhibitors at Christmasworld. It brings together international key players such as Drescher, DPI, Edelman, the members of EFSA, Globall Concept, Inge Glas, Kaemingk, MK Illumination, Blachère and a host of new exhibitors. Amongst the growth segments are, first and foremost, candles, room fragrances, packaging, floral decorations and artificial Christmas trees. Altogether, 946 exhibitors from 41 countries have signed up; they will present the latest decorative trends to brighten up the home or enhance the feel-good factor in shopping centres, towns, public buildings, hotels and restaurants. This means that the leading international trade fair for festive and seasonal decoration has also maintained last year's levels. "This year, Christmasworld is a truly splendid affair, with a magnificent complementary programme, which opens up whole new perspectives for seasonal trade, " adds Ms. Lorenz.

Seizing future market opportunities
"The latest studies confirm the trend; it will no longer be the goods themselves that are the centre of attention in the future, but the experiences offered by the contexts in which they are presented, experiences which surprise the customers and inspire them to discover more, " says Stephan Jung, Chair of the Executive Board of the German Council of Shopping Centers. Christmasworld has launched the Premium Business Programme specially for managers and designers of decorative concepts and experiential contexts in shopping centres and other large spaces. This involves stimulus lectures as well as special guided tours around the show. All exhibitors offering decorative concepts for large or exterior areas are identified with the "Concept Decorations" mark, which is intended to bring together supply and demand in a more targeted way. The response has been very good indeed, for a first event, with around 100 well-known shopping-centre operators having signed up.

There is, additionally, the new area for German Christmas Crafts, which gives the internationally popular folk art and craft 'made in Germany' its very own platform; there is the special show 'Window Wonderland' with a real fun-fair, a ground-breaking 'augmented reality installation', the lecture series in the Christmasworld forum and the Christmas Garden Centre competition. Star designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac will be at the opening ceremony of the show on 25 January 2013. He will introduce his own creation, the Christmas tree he designed for the charity initiative "Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs".

Efficient trio of trade fairs
Trade and professional visitors benefit from this, the largest trend and order platform of its kind, right at the beginning of the year. Christmasworld, the leading international trade fair for festive and seasonal decoration, from 25 to 29 January 2013, will transform six exhibition halls into "The World of Seasonal Decoration". Paperworld, the leading international trade fair for paper, office supplies and stationery, from 26 to 29 January 2013, will showcase the sector's innovations over a total of ten exhibition halls. Running concurrently, Creativeworld, the trade fair for the hobbies, crafts and artists' supplies sector will be the source of ideas and inspiration for all things relating to making things oneself. Each leading trade fair, on its own, offers a hitherto unattained variety of products in terms of both breadth and depth and includes a Trend Show with reliable pointers for the coming season. Together, they form a perfect trio of shows that create many synergies and thus open up additional business potential.

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