More international than ever

Admittedly, figures aren't everything, but they are a yardstick for measuring success. This year's Spoga+Gafa in Cologne can certainly claim that accolade after reaching the magic number of 40 000 trade visitors - a bigger attendance than for over ten years.
By investing hugely in the accompanying programme, the organiser, Koelnmesse, has also taken a positive step towards increasing the attractiveness of the event. It boasted themed islands, the POS Green Solution Islands, special zones devoted to batteries, the Smart Garden and soils, podium discussions, guided tours, and the long-established Boulevard of ideas. The fair organisers stress repeatedly that fairs must offer visitors added value. To go by the figures, this concept has succeeded.
Decision-makers in the garden sector came to Cologne from 114 countries. The visitor numbers were boosted primarily by foreign visitors, which is also attributable to the VIP programme newly introduced. 400 trade visitors came to the show from Australia. "In total, the share of international trade visitors rose once again by 4 percent up to 64 percent overall. This growth from abroad impressively underlines the strong international significance of spoga+gafa. Whereby both the specialised trade and large-scale retailers of international quality were strongly represented," stated Katharina C. Hamma, chief operating officer of Koelnmesse. She added that "The positive response of the trade visitors and their quality demonstrates that the course we have taken both in terms of content and the concept with new themes and added value is the right one." A total of 2 152 exhibitors from 61 countries (85 per cent from abroad) presented the trends and highlights for the coming garden season on 230 000 m² of exhibition space.

The path chosen by the fair management was endorsed by the international DIY retail association Edra/Ghin, one of the core target bodies. "All of the members were very pleased with spoga+gafa and our expectations were exceeded," said John W. Herbert, Edra general secretary. "Spoga+gafa is more international than ever. More members from the association took part in this year's event from all over the world. For instance, we had a company from Japan that travelled to the fair for the…