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Business
A Global Perspective: Ambiente
As Usual Ambiente was among the first major trade fairs of 2020 to be affected by the impact of coronavirus, with many German and international retail companies barring their workforce from travelling. Also affecting the show was Storm Ciara, with air and rail traffic, at times, completely paralysed throughout Germany and Europe. Although many Asian visitors noticeably dropped out of Ambiente, it was, however, business as usual, with buyers at the show keen to place orders, as British companies confirmed.
There was a slight feeling of disbelief at February’s Ambiente, as coronavirus, coupled with Storm Ciara, threatened to disrupt the February exhibition. But with true ‘the show must go on’ resolve, organisers Messe Frankfurt kept calm and carried on, with 108,000 buyers visiting from almost 160 countries, and 62% of visitors attending from outside Germany. Fortunately, business in the halls didn’t suffer as much as expected, although, according to Messe Frankfurt, many exhibitors were disappointed with the sense of uncertainty among visitors and the absence of several retail channels. “If a trade fair is impacted by two such events, it really does face enormous challenges,” commented Detlef Braun, member of the executive board of Messe Frankfurt. “However, fortunately, visitors came to Frankfurt with a positive mindset, keen to place orders.” His view was reinforced by many British exhibitors at the show, to include Phil Atherton,
Congratulations! In celebration of Spode’s 250th anniversary, a bespoke cake was presented to Portmeirion Group’s sales and marketing director Phil Atherton (second right) by Messe Frankfurt’s UK sales partner Rob Sherwood (left) managing director of Sherwood Events, Ambiente’s Thomas Kastl, director Dining, and the show’s Katja Glowatski, Dining sales. Another British company celebrating at the show was Royal Crown Derby, which has reached its milestone 270th year.
Above: The Dining sector sales and marketing director of Portmeirion at Ambiente. Group. “Concerns about coronavirus didn’t Below middle: Messe Frankfurt’s Detleft Braun seem to affect us,” he confirmed. “Buyers with German supermodel were not at the show to browse, they were Toni Garrn who was there to buy and place orders, and we opened among the VIP visitors to the show. a lot of new international accounts.” At Dunoon, sales director Peter Smith said that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the company’s Asian customers didn’t attend. “But luckily we had visited those customers last November, and they all ordered, so it wasn’t a disaster,” confirmed Peter, “with Ambiente a busy show for us.” Highlights at the show included the Sustainability area, which again featured Ambiente’s collaboration with the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) and MADE51, a UN Refugee Agency project. There was also a focus on products from Brazil in the debut Focus On Design area, and the return of the popular Ambiente Trends area. (See below). Nextrade, a new digital B2B ordering and data management system for suppliers and retailers in the consumer goods industry, extended the show by encouraging retailers, especially those that were unable to attend the show this year, to place orders online. Next year’s Ambiente will take place from February 19-23, 2021.
A Trio Of Trends Three ‘zones’ were dedicated to trends. l shaped + softened featured a neutral palette of reduced colours featuring white and shades of grey, with smooth surfaces - either soft or textured - and glass that was either satin or transparent. l In precise + architectural, the focus was on industrialism, which has been added to high-quality materials. There were tones of brick and cement, as well as rusty burnished nuances, lots of green, geometric designs and mottled patterns. l A third trend, artistical + diverse, revealed a colour palette featuring bright orange, raspberry, milky hues, honey and sky blue. As well as diverse combinations, there was also a combination of craft and digital technology. Curated by design studio Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano, products were sourced from the show’s exhibitors. Above: Among the colourful products in the artistical + diverse trend zone.
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