Heimtextil

The Global Market Place for Textile Furnishings

Heimtextil is the world’s largest trade fair for the textile furnishing industry. From the second Wednesday of each new year, the Heimtextil opens its gates for four days. The date is set and the world of textile furnishing is in Frankfurt or looking to Frankfurt.
In 2009, some 2,600 exhibitors welcomed almost 70,000 trade visitors at their stands. No other textile trade fair in the world achieves these dimensions. Heimtextil is the global market place for the textile furnishings industry.


Asian Selection - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH Thomas Fedra

Heimtextil in a nutshell as pdf

The difficulty in arranging the global market
The structure of trade fairs should reflect the distribution channels as much as possible as otherwise visitors
have to run around unnecessarily. It is also important
to consider who is exhibiting next to whom in order
to avoid conflicts. Not least of all because Heimtextil’s
principle of ‘verticality’ means that many exhibitors are
also suppliers of other exhibitors. As a rule, suppliers
and customers prefer not to exhibit next to each other,
which means that for years the Heimtextil team has had
to deal with the difficult issue of how to structure the
global market of exhibitors on the sales side and to some
extent also on the procurement side for four days.

Heimtextil`s criteria for exhibitor allocation
At the same time, exhibitors and visitors have become
more demanding. While in the past Heimtextil was organised
by product groups, today it is structured according
to three criteria:
- Product groups: Home and household textiles with
their sub-groups as well as services (design, home
textile technology)
- Categories: Premium range, quality suppliers, joint
presentations
- Origin: non-Asian exhibitors, Asian exhibitors

Upholstry fabrics - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH Jean-Luc Valentin

The most important development of recent years has
been the introduction of a premium range of home and
household textiles for European and Asian exhibitors.
This reflects the development in retail, where it is more
common to offer categories of ‘interior design displays’
rather than product groups (such as bed linens) across
all price and quality ranges. Contract business is also
concerned with the textile furnishings of, for example,
5-star and budget hotels, and not just of bed linen.

The main advantages of Heimtextil
The size of Heimtextil keeps causing controversy. With
an exhibition of this size there will always be some controversy,
but it also needs this critical discussion in order
to further develop. For us, Heimtextil’s major advantages
and achievements are as follows:
(1) The world’s largest and best range of home textiles.
Worldwide there is no other trade fair that can present
such a broad and deep range of bed and table linens
as well as bath textiles. From branded products, such
as Bassetti, to no name products – it is here where
buyers from many different countries will find everything
the world has on offer. Eight halls are dedicated
to home textiles alone.
(2) The largest and best exhibition of German home and
household textiles.
Anybody wanting to buy German home and household textiles cannot pass over Heimtextil. Worldwide there is no other trade fair that presents such a large range of products by German suppliers. With increasing internationalisation in procurement, this major advantage may not be obvious to everyone.
However, for many segments, such as contract business in Germany, buying from German suppliers is of vital importance, because it allows fast, reliable and small-scale procurement, as well as close consultation on and/or the development of product features.
(3) The largest and best exhibition of Asian home and
household textiles.
Today, China, India, Pakistan and Turkey are the centres for the global supply of home and household textiles. It is a traditional strength of Messe Frankfurt to accept open trading structures rather than organising a protectionist trade fair in favour of the domestic industry. As a result of this attitude, there is worldwide no other trade fair that can compete with
Heimtextil in terms of the sheer volume, diversity and
quality of Asian exhibitors. In 2009, more than 1,000
exhibitors from China, India, Pakistan and Turkey (which
for this purpose is considered an Asian country) exhibited
at the fair. Together with the Asian exhibitors (without
the Turkish exhibitors, as the organisers do not consider
them to be Asian), the Heimtextil team has made
every effort to place them according to category. Thus
the premium areas of the ‘Asienhallen’ (Asian halls) are
the most beautiful display of Asian home and household
textiles worldwide.
(4) Heimtextil is the most important export platform for
home textiles worldwide.
For most suppliers, whether from Germany, Belgium, Brazil or Pakistan, Heimtextil is the most important or one of the most important export fairs, which is primarily due to international visitor structure. In 2009, 63% of visitors came from abroad,
of which 47% where from within the EU. Buyers come
from so many countries that the majority of business
deals are export transactions. There is one exception,
however: for many German suppliers their business with
German customers is important and undoubtedly more
profitable than any export business they do at Heimtextil.
Nevertheless, there are many German exhibitors who
primarily exhibit for the export business, because their
sales teams have business in Germany under control
without having to present at a trade fair.
(5) Heimtextil is the most important trade fair to serve the
textile furnishings market in Germany.
Whoever wants to supply the German market with home and household textiles must exhibit at and/or visit Heimtextil, unless you have an excellent sales force in Germany, then your products and their positioning in the market will determine whether you can really afford to miss Heimtextil. Otherwise there is no better trade fair for establishing and fostering customer relationships in Germany in order to boost sales figures. And: the German market has become attractive again. It is not only the largest textile furnishings market in Europe, in 2010 it is also the most stable among the large markets in the European Union. This has not always been
the case and is rather an economic advantage, but it is
certainly valid for 2010 and maybe even for 2011.


Walldecoration - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH Thomas Fedra

The main drawbacks of Heimtextil
Where there is light, there are shadows. Here, in our
view, are the major weaknesses:
- Proposte and MoOD (formerly Decosit) have a better
selection of high-quality and specialised decoration and
upholstery fabric from Europe. Until recently, Heimtextil’s
exhibition date has simply been unsuitable for upholstery
fabrics. Shifting some of the German furniture
"House Shows" to the spring has proved beneficial for Heimtextil, particularly for the German market. Proposte and MoOD are well established specialised trade fairs, also covering Italy and Belgium, the major markets in this segment.
- Furniture stores focussing on lifestyle and design will find
more stimulation and better ideas for furnishings and
interior design at other trade fairs. Although Heimtextil
goes to a lot of efforts with the production and documentation
of furnishing trends, ‘trend’ is simply missing
in many exhibition halls. Other trade fairs do not need a
special exhibition – their halls demonstrate ‘trend’. And
at Heimtextil this also applies to some of the halls presenting
the premium ranges. But this is not what the
trade fair is about. Here the effect is that Heimtextil is
product-focused and wants to present all categories.
Other furnishing trade fairs, such as the Abitare Il Tempo,
show the whole range of furnishings from stone floor coverings
to luxury curtains and even kitchen appliances. When
the exhibitors are selected, the organisers place great emphasis
on top design and quality. Accordingly, the ‘interior
design displays’ of this trade fair are very inspiring and stylish.
Textile buyers are given impressions and ideas, but not
the breadth and depth of the textile furnishings market.
- The range of mattresses and sleeping systems is no
longer as extensive as it used to be and as such cannot provide an overview of the market as a whole.

Contractcreations - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
Thomas Fedra

Heimtextil intensifies the contract business
In recent years, the organisers have given contract business
more prominence at Heimtextil. Practically as a virtual
classification criterion, exhibitors that also operate in the
contract business have had a carpet tile laid at the entrance
to their stand spotting the logo ‘contractcreations’. There
is also a separate paperback ‘Contract Guide’ catalogue.
The textile contract business can be to split in two:
- Textiles for architects and interior designers, such as
floor coverings, upholstery materials and decorative
fabrics for curtains.
- Textiles for housekeepers, nursing care providers,
etc. such as bed linens, towels, bedding, mattresses,
incontinence materials, etc.
Recently Heimtextil capitalizes also in the contract business for housekeepers etc. on its strong position in operational textiles.

Supporting programme for trends and communication
Heimtextil also has an extensive and very interesting supporting programme in line with its position as a leading international trade fair.
Special mention should be made of the annual trend presentation, which is unique in terms of
both size and scale. In 2010, the Heimtextil Trend will be
presented for the 20th time. The trends are compiled by a
working group (‘trend table’) of respected designers with a
different member of the trend table taking responsibility for
publishing a trend book and realising trend installations each
year. These trends are regarded as something of a guideline
among developers and buyers of textile products. The 2010
trend presentation is being realised by Carlin International.

Ed Hardy - Messe Frankfurt Exhibition
GmbH Petra Welzl 

Exhibitor events
Many events are organised by exhibitors or in cooperation
with exhibitors. The programme of Decoteam, a cooperation
of jointly presenting exhibitors, has a long tradition.
Each year they make a huge effort in presenting their
trends of finished products. Decoteam also has an extensive
programme of lectures and meetings, which in 2010
is being presented together with, among others, Decor
Union and 2HK (Händler & Handwerker Kooperation – Cooperative of Traders & Artisans). Other events of the supporting programme include presenting the award for the
‘Specialist Bed Dealer of the Year’, under the leadership of
the trade magazine Haustex, or the ‘Young Contract Creations Award Upholstery 2010’, presented together with
Trevira CS and the trade magazine Polsterfashion.

Base: Living XL Special Edition 1/2010

back
Report Heimtextil 2010
Report Heimtextil 2009 (in German)
Report Heimtextil 2008
Heimtextil in a nutshell (pdf)