Paperworld 2018:a healthy and trend-oriented start to the new business year

Both manufacturers and retailers made a successful start to the new business season at the Paperworld， Creativeworld， Christmasworld and Floradecora trade fairs in Frankfurt am Main. 3，023 exhibitors from 69 countries made presentations to the national and international trade. 1，640 exhibitors from 66 countries took part in Paperworld 27 to 30 January 2018 in Frankfurt am Main.

Altogether， around 87，000 visitors from 162 countries made their way to Frankfurt to discover the latest trends and top themes， and to boost their businesses in the fields of festive and seasonal decorations， fresh flowers and plants， paper， office supplies and stationery， and hobby， art and craft supplies.

“Stimulated by the good economic climate， five intensive days at the consumer-goods fairs ended with full order books， new business impulses and a great atmosphere”， said Detlef Braun， Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt. “The further increase in exhibitor and visitor numbers confirmed that the relevant segments of the worlds consumer-goods markets are at home at Christmasworld， Paperworld and Creativeworld in Frankfurt am Main. Our consumergoods fairs are distinguished by a very high level of internationality that rose from 62 to 65 percent on the visitor side and to 82 percent on the exhibitor side.”

Paperworld 2018： exhibitors innovations attract numerous new customers from all over the world

With its extensive range of products and the inspiring complementary programme of events， Paperworld is the worlds biggest trade fair for the paper， office supplies and stationery sector. It focuses on future-oriented subjects， reveals new development opportunities and thus makes visitors and exhibitors fit for the coming business year.

“This positive setting is also reflected by the increased number of companies exhibiting at Paperworld. Altogether， 1，640 exhibitors from 66 countries made presentations during the four-day fair. With growth of eight percent， we have reversed the trend – and that in a challenging market”， said Julia Uherek， Group Show Director Consumer Goods， Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH. In comparison to 2017， there were more exhibitors from India， South Korea， Turkey， China， the United Kingdom and Russia.

High level of internationality and very high visitor standard

This years Paperworld also did better than the previous year in terms of visitor numbers. 33，787 trade visitors， 11，072 from Germany and 22，715 from abroad gained inspiration from the latest trends and products. According to the visitor poll， 95 percent of trade visitors were satisfied or very satisfied with the range of products to be seen at Paperworld. This positive echo shows that the fair in Frankfurt is both an international market place for innovations and an indispensable business platform for the exchange of ideas and information on a personal plane.

Striking at this years Paperworld： there were more trade visitors from outside Germany， especially from South Korea， Portugal， Bulgaria， China and Morocco， who came to Frankfurt to find innovations for the modern office and trends for private-oriented stationery and school requisites. All channels of distribution， from the classic retail trade， via the wholesale and import / export trade， to the mail-order and online trades， were represented. Many exhibitors remarked on the high visitor standard with numerous purchasing decision makers –three quarters of them are executives or come from top management. After Germany， the majority of trade visitors came from Italy， the United Kingdom， France， the USA， China， the Netherlands， Poland， Spain， Turkey and Greece.

Complementary programme of events with future-oriented subjects for all visitors

Furthermore， the trade fair was distinguished by future-oriented subjects covered by the professional-development and complementary programmes. Thus， the Future Office special show in Hall 3.0 put the spotlight on an important social issue and showed what a healthy workplace can look like. Visitors took a set route through the healthy office， which provided positive impulses regarding acoustics， lighting， air， hygiene， ergonomics， furnishings and office supplies. Rounding off this theme were different expert lectures every day and guided tours for architects， facility managers and the retail trade. The manufacturers also praised the new exhibition areas in the special show itself.

Insider： 10 years of top service for the specialist retail trade

The tenth anniversary of the Paperworld Insider programme is a sure sign that the specialist retail trade feels at home at the fair. More than 2，000 visitors came to Frankfurt to gather important ideas for their assortments at Paperworld and Creativeworld via the Insider customer programme， which is aimed at retailers in the German-speaking countries with up to ten employees. “The Insider programme is very important for us – from the preparatory phase using the website to the support provided in Frankfurt. The organisation is very good and there is a super-comfortable feeling at the fair”， said Ilka Gafert， proprietor of Fadengrafikshop in Reichelsheim.

Next year， the consumer-goods fairs will be held as usual around the last Saturday in January：

？Christmasworld and Floradecora： 25 to 29 January 2019

？Paperworld and Creativeworld： 26 to 29 January 2019