To be held this year from 29th August to 1st September at Messe Frankfurt, Tendence is an international consumer goods trade fair for the home and gift sectors. The director of Tendence’s Living sector, Sabine Scharrer, gives an insight of what to expect from this year’s edition ...
Tell us about the history of Tendence
Tendence is one of the oldest events here in Frankfurt and, therefore, part of the genetic code of Messe Frankfurt. Thus, Tendence can be seen as the foundation stone from which the tradition of spring and autumn fairs has emerged – and the reason why the modern Fair and Exhibition Centre in Frankfurt is a genuine must, especially for the consumer goods sector.
From the fifties onwards, various individual product groups, which were part of the multi-sector consumer goods fairs, developed rapidly into new, independent and specialised trade fairs. To take account of this, the Frankfurt International Autumn Fair was renamed Tendence in 1996 and can now look back on hundreds of successful events in the past.
What is Tendence’s aim?
Tendence is the marketplace for trends and new products. Buyers find the latest products from the home, furnishing, decorating, gifts, jewellery and fashion accessories segments.
For international trade visitors, it is the perfect ordering venue with everything for the autumn, winter and Christmas business. New ideas from all over the world meet creative designs and offer a preview of the product world of the coming spring. Hence, it is the most important national and European new products fair for the living and giving sectors in the second half of the year.
Who will be exhibiting this year?
The exhibitors in the Living section presenting current home trends include Dôme Deco, Fink & Co. KG, Greengate, Haans Lifestyle, Henry Dean, Homefashion, House Doctor, Lambert, Light & Living, Oberg Max Benjamin and Scholtissek.
From 29th August to 1st September, they will be showing the latest interior design innovations, trendy home accessories and seasonal decoration ideas from the Interiors & Decoration, Seasonal Decoration and Loft product segments. At Tendence, furniture stores and interior design boutiques can be sure to find a large selection of supplementary product lines, which enable them to set themselves apart from their competitors.
Will there be any special features at the event?
When we speak about supplementary product lines, we really must talk about arts and crafts, which is one of the highlights at Tendence. The Form 2015 – Design from Crafts and Industry exhibition in hall 9.0 shows award-winning products from the competition organised by the German Arts & Crafts Association (Bundesverband Kunsthandwerk) and Messe Frankfurt.
Launched over 60 years ago, the competition, which is the only one to bring together arts and crafts and industrial design, has developed into one of Germany’s foremost design awards. At Tendence, the arts and crafts segment represents another special opportunity for buyers to order unique products that none of their competitors offer.
What makes Tendence unique from other European shows?
Last year, 37% of exhibitors came from outside Germany, from a total of 51 countries. On the visitor side, 18% came from abroad. Additional confirmation for the fair is to be seen in the high visitor standard and the 89% level of visitor satisfaction. Tendence is the most important national and European order fair in the autumn – especially with regard to the Christmas business, which is vital for the retail trade. This is where buyers find new fresh ideas which they cannot afford to miss.
What can visitors expect to discover?
Visitors can look forward to a host of new products. After all, new products are a must for Christmas, the most important time of the year for the retail trade. Additionally, we aim to help retailers to differentiate themselves with a multi-faceted programme of events.
A highlight is our Window Dressing Live workshop, where renowned visual-merchandising trainer and author Karin Wahl gives creative tips for turning shop windows into a positive experience for shoppers and an impressive visiting card for the business.
In lectures at the Retail Academy, experts offer retailers valuable ideas on sales-strategic product presentations. In this case, too, the emphasis is on incorporating the latest retail trends into everyday business.
The Home&Trend Award helps buyers by providing an objective seal of quality, enabling them to make better ordering decisions. The winners of the award are decided by a jury of experts and consumers.
With the focus on quality, innovative functions and design, the LifeCare Initiative gives the Trend Product of the Year award in several different categories. As you can see, there is a great deal to discover at Tendence.
How is Tendence attracting international visitors?
The lectures just mentioned are particularly interesting for the European retail trade. Naturally, they are also translated simultaneously into English.
Additionally, I would like to recommend our Modern Crafts, Carat and Ecostyle Talents areas where young talents present their designs and first small product series. The Talents areas are exactly right for retailers wanting to invigorate their offers with extraordinary ideas and products.
The Next promotional areas are also component parts of Tendence. There, young companies with initial experience of the market have the opportunity to present their product ideas to an international audience of trade visitors. In addition to the Next areas in the Personal Accessories and Carat segments, the coming edition of the fair will also include Next areas for modern crafts and gourmet exhibitors. In other words, Tendence is a great source of inspiration for its visitors.
What are the event’s future plans?
Visitors will always find a huge range of new products and trends at Tendence because it is the innovation summit in the second half of the year and will continue to build on this position. As a partner of the retail trade, we aim to continue covering subjects that are important to the trade with attractive special events and special formats.
We provide not only a venue where retailers can place orders but also genuine value added. Fair and social commerce is another relevant subject that will continue to grow in importance in the future. Accordingly, we will also do everything in our power to strengthen the aspect of sustainability as a service to the retail trade at Tendence.
This article was published in the August issue of Furniture News magazine.
