The trade show is looking to strengthen the event in light of a downcast industry outlook.
The show’s organiser Messe Frankfurt discussed changes ahead for the shows coming in 2014, with a focus on “flexibility” and “strengthening the sector” said to be the two main aims for Paperworld’s events in 2014. It stated that trade fairs “are not only a driving force but also a mirror image of the economy”, and that the state of the office supplies, paper and stationery industry, including remanufacturing “can be seen more clearly than ever before”, with an “uncertain view of the future” for many exhibitors.
In turn, it cites the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce and the German Office Supplies and Stationery Association, which have noted respectively that the euro crisis mean the forecast for economic growth “has had to be cut by more than half”, and that there was a 4.6 percent drop in the sales of paper and stationery in February 2013 alone. An additional note was that at the recent event in Frankfurt in January, the outlook “called for stagnating sales” across the industry.
To add to this, the German office industry has suffered from a similar percentage of falling sales, with Messe Frankfurt stating that these “extremely negative development[s] influence the decisions of manufacturing companies”, and have a “direct impact on budgetary allocations” for events such as Paperworld, with a number of large stationery companies stating that they will only exhibit every two years at future events.
The organiser reflected on the trend towards consolidation, and the move towards using the fair as a “marketing tool” to launch new brands and products. In a hark back to their plans last year to ask exhibitors and visitors to give their perspectives on the show, Messe Frankfurt noted that the prevailing view on the event was that January was the best time to have the show, and that in future a new layout will be developed.
This layout will include “restructured product groups”, with the products shown “optimised in the interests of market participants”, with an example given of school products being moved to Creativeworld to fit alongside products for “young target groups”, whilst other new participation options are being “prepared and will be introduced” at the show in Frankfurt in 2014.
Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board of Messe Frankfurt, stated: “For us as a fair and exhibition company, this is all the more reason to invest in markets undergoing a process of structural change. And, as a loyal and reliable partner, we can achieve this with a high degree of flexibility and professionalism. Under such circumstances, it is our duty to strengthen the paper, office supplies and stationery sector and to offer it an international business and marketing platform.
“We are a reliable partner who aims to support companies in all economic circumstances and open up a variety of opportunities for them to participant in trade fairs. As an international fair and exhibition company, we can implement all kinds of presentation and networking platforms. Standstill is not the way forward and Messe Frankfurt will continue to invest in Paperworld as the annual international platform for innovations, with the aim of strengthening the entire paper, office supplies and stationery sector and revealing business benefits with innovative options.”