Record results at the MUSTERMARKT and BIJOUTEX fairs in Munich

More than 35,000 specialized dealers from all over Europe attended the two international MUSTERMARKT and BIJOUTEX trade fairs that took place from January 5-7, 2007 at the new fair grounds in Munich. This was the highest number of visitors ever to be achieved in the 50-year history of these two fairs

The willingness of people in the trade to place orders was above average, and this created a very good climate among the 450 exhibitors from the sectors of interior design, home furnishings and decoration, garden accessories, glass and ceramics, floral lifestyle, gifts, stationery, games forum, hobbies and handicrafts, costume jewellery and fashion accessories.
The long-standing reluctance of consumers to go out and buy now seems to have been overcome, as least if you consider the very positive Christmas business.
Economic boom at the MUSTERMARKT fair
At the MUSTERMARKT fair, some 230 exhibitors from the sectors of interior design, home furnishings and decoration, garden accessories, glass and ceramics, floral lifestyle, gifts, stationery, games forum, hobbies and handicrafts presented the latest trends for the coming spring and summer seasons in 30,000 square metres of exhibition space.
Apart from exclusive interior and home decoration articles, the entire outdoor sector is arousing more and more interest among specialized buyers. A new market with good opportunities for growth in the years to come is opening up for specialized traders in this field. The exhibitors of the so-called “green industry“, who were located in pavilions B1 and B2, reported that the business results they achieved with the novelties presented at this fair were very positive indeed.
Sales increases of up to 50% were not uncommon and many of the exhibitors themselves had not expected a rise of this magnitude. “With our new collection ‘Zwergenaufstand’ (rebellion of the garden gnomes), we have once again launched the right products at the right time“, says
Heike Bringemeier, owner of the Blümchen company. “For many years now, the MUSTERMARKT fair has been the ideal platform for introducing our latest trends, which are traditionally presented here to our customers for the first time right at the beginning of the year.“ Colourful small pieces of furniture from Brazil, ceramic flowers and oversized sculpture fruits made by local artists attracted a lot of attention among specialized visitors.
“Our first appearance at the MUSTERMARKT fair in Munich was a great success“, says Marcus Bull, managing director of the Bull and Stein Company, which imports artworks and furniture from Brazil.
Compared to the year before, the number of visitors has increased by 6%, a development which underlines the growing importance of this trade fair. The MUSTERMARKT fair is attended increasingly by traders from neighbouring Eastern European states, too, who see this fair as an ideal opportunity for placing orders. The number of visitors from the neighbouring countries of Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy has always been high and this time reached some 15 per cent as well.
The creative sector expands its position
The sectors of hobbies and handicrafts, stationery and toys and games in pavilion B3 once again took up considerably more exhibition space at the MUSTERMARKT trade fair than in previous years. Accordingly, more specialized traders from this sector attended the fair in
Munich in order to become acquainted with new products and interesting arts and crafts techniques. The fair was complemented by a “creative forum“, where 12 up-to-date techniques were presented. In specialized workshops, top instructors from the creative side of the industry taught visitors the latest trends from the sectors of costume jewellery, artists’ colours, “kumihimo“, the “crea-pop-technique“ as well as scrap-booking. “We are amazed at the great interest that specialized visitors are displaying in these workshops at the creative forum“, says Ekkehard Kohl, the managing director of the Kohl Fachausstellungen GmbH.
“With the support of our exhibitors, we are going to expand this sector and turn it into a professional advanced training option that caters specifically to the creative sector.“
BIJOUTEX – successful performance in two pavilions
For the first time, the Munich BIJOUTEX fair, the international trade fair for costume jewellery and fashion accessories, was located in two pavilions, B5 and B6. Spreading the exhibitors over two pavilions had become necessary because the 220 exhibitors at the fair required more space for the presentation of their new jewellery and accessories collections.
More than 15, 000 trade visitors attended the BIJOUTEX fair in January, which in recent years has turned into one of the most important trade fairs for costume jewellery and accessories throughout Germany.
In pavilion B6, exhibitors at the BIJOUTEX fair displayed an almost unlimited diversity of costume jewellery designs. Even though a clear trend is currently not discernible, it can be stated that customized jewellery is becoming more and more popular. Iridescent glass beads, rhinestone and silver jewellery continue to be in great demand and appeal particularly to younger people. Classics such as Tahitian pearls and semi-precious stones are increasingly used in the individual pieces.
The next MUSTERMART and BIJOUTEX fairs are scheduled to take place from Saturday, June 30 to Monday, July 2, 2007.