imm cologne drew to a close on Sunday, recording a total of around 125,000 visitors (including estimates for the last day of the show) – a slight increase compared to the similarly-sized event in 2016, despite Storm Friederike on Thursday and the resulting transport difficulties.
The event attracted greater numbers from Europe and Asia. “imm cologne is an excellent and highly-effective platform for international business,” says Gerald Böse, president and CEO of Koelnmesse. "Each year, the trade fair provides the industry with vital momentum for sales in decisive export markets around the world.”
The president of the Association of the German Furniture Industry, Axel Schramm, adds: “The German furniture industry is delighted that imm cologne went exceptionally well and gave us a great start to 2018. We hope that the momentum that we’ll take with us from Cologne will carry us throughout the rest of the year. The trade fair’s success will assist furniture manufacturers in expanding our successful exports and in achieving results in the challenging home market.”
imm cologne is attracting growing numbers of international visitors. The proportion of foreign visitors rose to around 50% (46% in 2016) on the trade visitor days. From Europe, increases in visitor numbers were particularly evident from Spain (+31%), Belgium (+16%), France (+11%) and Eastern Europe (+54%). There was particularly impressive growth in Russian visitors (+69%).
Significant increases also were seen in visitors from Asia (+50%), with especially strong growth from China (+82%) and Japan (+63%), as well as the Middle East (+15%), Australia/Oceania (+51%), North America (+12%) and Central America (+21%).
In addition to the product showcases, Das Haus – a walk-in simulation of a home, designed by Lucie Koldova this year – was once again one of the fair's highlights. Lighting, bathrooms and the smart home were the focus for this edition, and particular emphasis was placed on them in the Pure Architects concept hall.
