Fair Comment sees Furniture News quiz the people behind the scenes to discover what makes their exhibition unique, what changes are taking place, and why buyers from the UK and ROI should take note. In this article, German home and gift fair Tendence is in the spotlight, as group show director Philipp Ferger elaborates …
Identity: Tendence is the largest, most international ordering platform in Germany for trends and new products in the second half of the year. You will find buyers of new products for the home, for furnishings and decoration, as well as gift, jewellery and fashion items.
International trade visitors value it highly as the perfect time to place orders for the autumn, winter and Christmas trade. Moreover, it gives a preview of the coming spring and summer seasons.
Attendance: Last year, 27,466 visitors from 83 countries travelled to Frankfurt to visit Tendence. We are not currently in a position to estimate the number of visitors we expect this year, but we can, nevertheless, reveal that we shall be offering a diverse and varied programme. It will definitely be worth a visit!
In terms of exhibitors, 1100 companies from 47 countries presented the latest trends at Tendence 2015. For visitors, that represents a unique range of products from which to select both their own core and supplementary product lines.
“Naturally, as a buyer, one tends to focus on one’s core product lines, but it is nevertheless hugely important to have a look round for potential impulse buys for one’s shop”
Again, we cannot yet say how many will be there in 2016, since some exhibitors tend to decide whether they are going to take advantage of the opportunity it affords just a few weeks in advance of the show. But I can say this – from Great Britain, we already have 38 exhibitors signed up. They include companies such as Enesco, Get Fresh Cosmetics/Bomb and the Jellycat Toy Company.
What’s new? There’s a load of new things at the upcoming Tendence to bring plenty of fresh air. Firstly, the product groups are being restructured. As a result we shall be offering our buyers even greater help in finding their way around the exhibition centre, as well as a host of new incentives for buying things.
For example, the high-value product area, Pure & Elegant, is to be found in Hall 9.0. In Hall 8.0, in the Lovely Home and Seasonal Decoration sections, the entire range of the latest decoration and furnishing trends for inside and out are on display.
We are concentrating the Accessories & Jewellery section in Hall 9.2. Hall 11.1 is divided between the Young Gifts and Culinary Gifts areas. Here you can find the latest ideas for incidental gifts and some original ideas for presents. It is immediately next door to the Culinary Gifts area, always a segment with lots of new trends. On display here, too, is food and drink that lends itself to being given as a gift, such as vinegar, oil, premium spices and jams.
In the Culinary Gifts area in particular, we offer retailers the opportunity to take a look at the new Liquid Gifts area both left and right. Naturally, as a buyer, one tends to focus on one’s core product lines, but it is nevertheless hugely important to have a look round for potential impulse buys for one’s shop.
Gin Tonic has been all the rage for some time, and continues to be a contender. It is not only a delicious drink – in its exclusive, unusual bottles it also makes a wonderful present on the shelves of a gift or lifestyle shop, where it can be a real highlight, providing a partly regional, partly international point of reference.
Rum in numerous varieties and guises is already marking itself out as the next trend in cocktails. These trend ideas mean new opportunities for the retail trade to encourage impulse buys and thus generate additional sales in high street shops.
The Village, too, which will be launched at Tendence this year, also promises to generate new impulses and purchasing incentives. Ten leading companies will demonstrate ways of arranging and displaying products at the point of sale.
As well as presenting the products of individual companies, the Village offers an ideal stage on which to display different brands and collections skilfully combined with one another and to present them in bold scenarios, thus encouraging customers to buy.
Another issue that is very much on trend at the moment is sustainability. So, for the first time at Tendence, the Ethical Style Guide will form part of the main catalogue.
This is a guide for sustainably- and/or ethically-produced goods, which provides help and information to assist buyers to find their bearings in a highly complex product segment and provide information about widely diverse aspects of sustainability. It is one of the social issues of our time – particularly in the media and in public discussions.
So, you can see that the next Tendence has plenty to offer, and that it continues to keep its finger on the pulse of the times.
Direction? To begin with, Tendence has an unmistakable profile. Its unique selling point lies in its character as a multi-sector exhibition and, specifically, in the combination of the two areas, Giving and Living.
Visitors can look forward to a host of new products. And, for the first time, we are conflating the lecture and workshop formats in the Tendence Academy, thus providing pragmatic support for the retail trade with an extensive programme of events.
Here you will find just the right kind of ideas and tricks to distinguish your shop from the competition – from unusual shop window decorations to retail design trends and practical tips for online sales, retailers will find a richly diverse programme spread over two arenas in halls 9.2 and 11.1.
At Tendence, we are seeking to do more than just offer the wholesale and retail trade a platform for ordering and networking – we aim also to strengthen their competitiveness in the long term. And the key to this is knowledge that is firmly oriented towards practical issues. Tendence is, therefore, a huge source of inspiration for its visitors in all sorts of ways.
What are the main factors that distinguish Tendence from its spring counterpart, Ambiente? In the first place, they are two quite separate events. Ambiente has always been, and continues to be, the key show – the major consumer-goods fair for the international market. It is a venue at which to discover all the latest trends and a platform for innovations in an entirely global sector.
Tendence is the high point for new products for the Christmas trade and the upcoming spring and summer seasons. Traditionally, the show focuses first and foremost on orders, particularly with a view to meeting the needs of the very important winter and Christmas business in the short term.
Tendence has some of the most limited coverage in terms of product groups – but it is one that is nonetheless important. This is because the companies in the Dining group no longer demand a second ordering venue, but concentrate heavily on, for instance, Ambiente instead.
Things are different for Living and Giving. Rather like the fashion sector, consumer goods in this area need a second venue for placing orders because of their particular cyclic rhythms – but it needs to have a different focus. At the end of the day, Easter needs to feel different from Christmas.
Gift and furnishings shows take place in the UK throughout the summer and into autumn – what might UK buyers find that is different at Tendence? The most important difference is that visitors will discover a vast array of new products and hot trends here, from the modern to the avant-garde. Tendence is the high point for new products and the biggest, most international of Germany’s ordering platforms in the second half of the year.
As a partner for the retail trade, it offers attractive special events and special formats, which directly reflect the concerns of the trade. As a result, as well as promoting the placing of orders, it also creates genuine added value for retailers.
By changing its structure, Tendence now has an unequivocal high-quality area in Hall 9.0. At the same time, visitors can also, however, find here some (so-called) rapid sellers in the middle and lower segments of the market, which represent very good value for money, coming as they do through the strong presence of fashionable exhibitors from The Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia.
“Furniture shops and interior design boutiques will find a very large selection of supplementary lines at Tendence, which they can use to perfectly distinguish themselves from the competition”
It is becoming clearer and clearer that the trend for individual and stylish furnishings can be seen in all price segments, and it is precisely this that Tendence offers in terms of its exhibitors, with significant numbers of suppliers very much oriented towards lifestyle.
How significant is the furniture and furnishings component of the show, and can you give us some examples? In the high-end segment in Hall 9.0, exhibitors such as Lambert, Eichholtz, Fink and Serax will present some of the very latest and most popular fashions for the home. Housedoctor, PT Groep, Raeder Wohnzubehör and Wohnmanufaktur Grünberger will be exhibiting the latest trends in accessories for the home, as well as seasonal decoration ideas, in Hall 8.0.
Furniture shops and interior design boutiques will find a very large selection of supplementary lines at Tendence, which they can use to perfectly distinguish themselves from the competition.
Can you suggest a few cross-buying opportunities a furniture retailer visiting from the UK might encounter at Tendence? When we talk of supplementary ranges of products, we cannot avoid mention of arts and crafts, which represent one of our highlights. At Tendence, the whole area of arts and crafts, and hand-made items in general, once again offers a special opportunity to order one-off products that no competitor will be able to provide.
And, as a result, the Form competition, for example, has proved to be an audience magnet for many years. It is unique in forging a bridge between individual craft work and industrial design.
Visitors will find both individual handicraft pieces as well as designer products that have been manufactured industrially – either way, something completely individual for your shop.
In addition, for the 66th time at Tendence, the three winners of the Hessian State Award for German Arts & Crafts will be announced. This award carries the largest amount of prize money of all Germany’s awards for arts and crafts work.
Is there any other news you feel our UK readers might like to know about? Tendence has a host of highlights to offer, which many shows simply cannot provide. Our Next promotional areas for the new up-and-coming generation are a fixed element of Tendence. Here, young companies, who have already had some initial experience of the market, have an opportunity to showcase their product ideas for an audience of international trade visitors.
As well as the Modern Crafts area in Hall 9.0, and Accessories & Jewellery in Hall 9.2, there are also two new areas this year – Young Gifts and Culinary Gifts in Hall 11.1.
The Talents areas are always worth a visit. Altogether, 35 young talents from 13 countries will present themselves and their products at Tendence. Of these, 19 participants will be showcasing their work in the Modern Crafts section. In Accessories & Jewellery there are 16 selected jewellery designers who will be presenting their highly imaginative products that are a little out of the ordinary. I look forward with considerable anticipation to the creations that await us in these various formats.
In your opinion, what makes your show better than any other similar furniture event? It is not our opinion that matters here, it is what our visitors think that counts. And they confirm for us every year – with satisfaction levels of 90% – that Tendence is the most important national and European venue for ordering goods in the autumn, specifically with an eye to the Christmas trade that is so very crucial for retailers. Not forgetting that our mission statement claims that buyers will find Fresh.New.Ideas, that they just cannot be without. Just check it out for yourself!
Tendence takes place from 27-30th August at Messe Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main.
