Above: Sonae Arauco at the 2023 event
place from 9am-6pm, except this year, Friday will close an hour earlier for convenience for everyone and due to its being a traditional quiet time at the end of the show. Entrance tickets will only be available in
the show app, no PDF documents will be able to be used. Tickets are interchangeable with LIGNA, facilitating easy access between both events, also allowing visitors to see some of Germany in between the two shows. On the exhibitor side, the show organisers are upbeat about numbers, with the return of some of the big brands that were missing in 2023.
“Some of the big brands took a decision in 2022 [about not attending] at the end of the pandemic, but many of them said afterwards it was the wrong decision,” said Mr Fischer. “Almost everybody has returned this time, such as Swiss Krono, Toppan and Rehau. The Material & Nature segment was the area we had the most companies missing two years ago, so were happy about them coming back,” he added.
More than 80% of exhibitors come
from continental Europe, with the biggest contingent being from Italy. Companies from Germany, Turkey and Austria are also prominent exhibitors, while China is the largest exhibitor nation from Asia. The exhibitor night on the Monday night before the show starts is a popular event where exhibitors from the full range of companies have a party and network together at the Rheinterrassen Köln on the banks of the Rhine.
VISITOR PROFILE Visitor numbers at Interzum reached an all-time high in 2019 just before Covid, when more than 74,000 visitors were recorded. The 2021 event was cancelled and the 2023 event was effectively a reset. “We saw a downturn just after Covid and had over 62,000 visitors in 2023. But the quality of visitors rose tremendously and it’s this group who make the purchase
decisions,” explained Mr Fischer. Mr Fischer expects the decision-making
visitor presence in 2025 to be as strong, if not stronger, than two years ago. Some 73% of visitors last time were purchase decision makers. “It’s difficult to predict the numbers beforehand. There is a strong correlation between how the exhibitor group is developing (rising) and the visitor side. The target is to grow visitor numbers at least 5%. I’m quite confident that we will have at least a bigger show in terms of visitor numbers and more on track to the 2019 numbers.” The majority of visitors are from outside Germany, with a strong presence from continental Europe and Asia. China and India represent two of the biggest overseas visitor nations. With visa problems dogging 2023 exhibitor attendance for the Chinese, strong growth is expected from the country this year.
FURNITURE RETAILERS More than 50% of Interzum visitors are from the furniture industry. “We see the retailers are coming more and more to Interzum, not the classical wood retailers you would normally see at the exhibition, but furniture retailers,” said Mr Fischer. “They tend to come because they want to
know what is coming up in the future. They want to be at the same information level as their suppliers, so they are sending more people from their purchasing departments.” Other visitor groups in attendance include
interior construction, the automotive industry, aviation, shipping and the rail segment. They’re small but growing. BMW came two years ago and this year Mercedes, Hyundai and Volkswagen will be in attendance, as interior designers of the automotive industry have identified Interzum as a good source of inspiration and a good sourcing platform. Equally, aviation industry representation
saw a delegation from Lufthansa attend in 2023 to find ideas in cabin design. Unsurprisingly, representation from the
kitchen, bedding, office and shopfitting sector is high.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY FOCUS A super trend which will be prominent throughout Interzum is the circular economy. In the Circular and Biobased Solutions trend – the trade fair will focus on material cycles and innovative bio-based materials. The latter encourages “bio-based interiors” as a substitute for oil-based products, such as in foils and glues. The Rethinking Resources Boulevard is designed for exhibitors who want to position themselves around this 2025 global lead theme. Three Trend Forums in specific halls at the exhibition will include “Bio circular materials” in Hall 6 (Materials and Nature industry), hosted by Haute Innovation. R&D institutes and universities will share research, to give an idea of what materials are coming up for possible use in the furniture industry and interior design. The other forums cover textiles and
Function & Components, the latter in Hall 10 and titled “Rethink Furniture – less, but better” by byform. This aims to show how furniture can be produced with less effort, and a leaner production process, less material input, but with an outcome that is the same or better. The Interzum trends stage also has presentations, round tables and discussion panels with well-known experts. Topics will include AI, while a product stage will be for exhibitors to share information about their new products. Interzum Award is running again and is
awarded to the most innovative products, with 145 entries submitted by 80 exhibitors from 25 countries. WBPI asked Mr Fischer what the market pulse was among exhibitors currently. “We hear from a lot of exhibitors that the
www.wbpionline.com | April/May 2025 | WBPI
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