Trio of consumer-goods fairs in Frankfurt kicks off as a great new-products showcase with over 2,850 exhibitors

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With 2,855 registered exhibitors, the Christmasworld, Paperworld and Creativeworld trio of fairs present an unrivalled spectrum of products for the fields of festive decorations, paper, office supplies and stationery, and hobby, handicrafts and artists' requisites from 30 / 31 January to 3 February 2015.

"One venue, three leading trade fairs and multi-faceted inspiration: with our trio of consumer-goods fairs, we ensure a good start to the new season for retailers and buyers. For five days, exhibitors from 63 countries are showing what the world market for festive decorations, office supplies and creative handicrafts has to offer in 2015. Nowhere else can international buyers find new products in this unique constellation", says Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt. Even more impulses are generated by the numerous trend shows and networking areas, which focus on future opportunities for the trade. "On more than 215,000 square metres of exhibition space, we bring together not only all major brands from the three sectors but also show in this age of online shopping how to attract more customers to the bricks-and-mortar trade, in city centres and shopping malls", adds Braun.

Christmasworld and Creativeworld are two strong, rapidly expanding events. Despite massive consolidation trends in the sector, Paperworld is set to achieve excellent results because all important brands wanting to get ahead in the international market have returned to the fair. Thus, the total number of exhibitor registrations received is only slightly down on the previous year (2014: 2,883 exhibitors from 65 countries).

Paperworld: the key players are back
Paperworld reflects the paper, office supplies and stationery sector, which continues to be in a state of flux. Although, the market stopped declining so rapidly in 2014, the downwards trend could not be reversed. Hence, total sales in the German paper, office supplies and stationery market fell for the third year running to € 12,689 billion (source: IFH Retail Consultants). "In view of this, we are very proud that we have been able to attract important brands back to Paperworld even in these volatile times, and thus offer the trade a great platform with 1,641 exhibitors from 61 countries", says Detlef Braun. "With the Paperworld Plaza in Hall 3.1 and manufacturers in nine exhibition halls, the entire paper, office supplies and stationery market is back again in Frankfurt to offer a concentration of expertise unrivalled anywhere in the world."

In addition to the unparalleled range of products, Paperworld is also characterised by a wide-ranging event and conference programme with numerous highlights and lectures for the trade. The renowned speakers at the Plaza Academy include trend expert Sven Gábor Jánszky who will give a lecture on 'Living environments 2022'. Additionally, Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy and a Member of the German Bundestag, will speak on ''Strong brands, new trends – the sector on the way to the future"; Daniel Werner of Amazon presents the internet business as an opportunity for additional sales. "In other words, lots of expert knowledge that speakers will share with our trade visitors, to give the market a further boost", says Detlef Braun.

See the future of shopping live
With its 'Future Shopping' special show, Paperworld will generate impulses for the bricks-and-mortar trade and show how digital technologies can stimulate and revitalise traditional businesses. On behalf of Messe Frankfurt, Schneider Schreibgeräte GmbH and 1eEurope show how this can work in a specially built shopping arcade covering 400 square metres. Real products can be given an additional dimension through the integration of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Beacon technology is one way of doing this while QR codes, couponing systems and links to audio and video content can also enhance the shopping experience. Paperworld visitors can discover the future of shopping live in regular guided tours or look around for themselves whenever they have the chance.

Creativeworld: market and fair boom
Creativeworld continues to grow. With 290 exhibitors from 30 countries (2014: 289 exhibitors from 32 countries), it is the market place of the creative sector and the ideal business, trend and order platform. Moreover, it has also grown in terms of exhibition space this year. "In cooperation with the sector, we have established Creativeworld as the world's most popular meeting place for the creative scene", says Detlef Braun and adds: "The concept of the world's leading trade fair has proven its worth and been accepted equally by both trade and industry".

The creative possibilities for handicrafts fans offered today are many and varied and involve the use of materials such as paper, dyes, pearls, felt, textiles, wood, wax and modelling clay. The creative market is booming and grew again in 2014. Consumer demand for individuality and self-fulfilment continues unabated with no end in sight. Manufacturers and suppliers of creative products continue to outdo each other with new product ideas ranging from fashion sprays for textiles, via creative concrete sets, to gel printing plates. The best testimonial to the creativity of the sector is the fair itself with its numerous demonstrations and workshops offered by exhibitors on their exhibition stands.

Christmasworld expands with 'Seasonal Decoration at its best'
With 924 exhibitors from 42 countries (2014: 917 exhibitors from 39 countries), Christmasworld presents the latest products and trends with which the trade can inspire its customers, e.g., Advent and Christmas decorations, seasonal indoor and outdoor decorations and eye-catching large-scale decorations. "Christmasworld was fully booked up back in August. All of the sector's key players are on board and we have even been able to fit in a few additional exhibitors. This leaves no doubt that the world's leading trade fair for seasonal decorations is the meeting place for the sector and the ideal business and order platform", says Detlef Braun. The fastest growing product segments at the fair are lighting (both indoor and outdoor lighting for consumers and for shop and urban lighting), artificial Christmas trees and candles.

Overall, the demand for decorative articles remains high. In 2014, consumers spent approximately € 2.78 billion on Christmas and festive articles – an increase of 0.1 percent over the previous year (source: IFH Retail Consultants). To maintain demand in the bricks-and-mortar trade on a high level, Christmasworld offers many ideas for making the shopping experience more emotional. "Particularly important in this connection is the last month of the year. Consumers only really get into the mood for Christmas when they visit a festively decorated town or city – not on the internet", confirms Klaus Striebich, Chairman of the Board of the German Council of Shopping Centre and Partner of the Premium Business Programme that is bringing, for example, the Master of Presentation, Bernhard Paul, to the lecture rostrum.

Atmosphere pays
To put the focus on the special atmosphere at Advent, consumers in Germany were asked to vote for the most attractively decorated city on a new website at www.BestChristmasCity.de. “The interest and participation in the first competition to be organised by Messe Frankfurt in cooperation with the German City and Urban Marketing Association (Bundesvereinigung City- and Stadtmarketing Deutschland e.V. – bcsd) and Public Marketing magazine was overwhelming with 41 towns and cities and more than 55, 000 votes”, says Detlef Braun. Chemnitz is the public favourite with the most online votes. The jury awards went to Abensberg (in the ‘small city’ category), Bocholt (‘medium-sized city’) and Dresden (‘big city’). Each has won a high-quality city decoration for the coming Christmas season

That Christmas decorations provide a good return on the investment is also confirmed by a new study entitled ‘Christmas decorations in German shopping centres’ conducted by EHI Retail Institute, Cologne, on behalf of Messe Frankfurt. Today, Christmas still plays a vital role for annual sales in the retail trade, as shown by the opinions of the 64 managers polled from different-sized shopping centres in different parts of Germany. Shopping centres spend around € 24 million a year on Christmas decorations. Arranging the decorations and their quality has top priority. Further results from the study and details can be found in the new Management Report.

Efficient trio of fairs
Punctually at the beginning of the year, trade visitors benefit from the biggest trend and order platform of its kind: Christmasworld, International Trade Fair for Festive and Decorative Articles, presents ‘Seasonal decoration at its best’ from 30 January to 3 February 2015; Paperworld, Leading International Trade Fair for Paper, Office Supplies and Stationery, shows the sector’s innovations in ten exhibition halls from 31 January to 3 February 2015. The concurrent Creativeworld, The World of Art and Craft Supplies, is the source of ideas for handicrafts enthusiasts. Each of these trade fairs is distinguished by a spectrum of products unrivalled in terms of depth and breadth, as well as a reliable trend show for the coming season. Together, they form a perfect trio of fairs, which generates synergistic effects and thus opens up new business potential.

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