Back with a vengeance

"The fairs are back with a vengeance." Oliver Frese, managing director at Koelnmesse, was visibly pleased and relieved when he said this sentence at a press conference on the hardware fair. "Extremely well" is how trade fairs, he emphasised, have developed again after the slump caused by the pandemic and the enforced contact restrictions.

This also applies to the International Hardware Fair. The next edition, which after the exception in September 2022 will now be held again in 2024 at the regular interval, will be above the level of 2022 in terms of space occupancy, the organiser estimates the booking status. Shortly before the end of the early booking discount on 30 June, two-thirds of the space was already taken. "It's already looking good," said Matthias Becker, director responsible for the hardware fair, at the press conference. By mid-June, companies from 45 countries had registered - 87 per cent from abroad. The world's leading trade fair for the hardware sector will next be held in Cologne from 3 to 6 March 2024.

The early booking phase already reflects the great interest in the DIY Boulevard: 45 companies have registered for the presentation area so far. With the DIY Boulevard, the International Hardware Fair, in cooperation with the Home & Garden Manufacturers' Association (HHG), gives exhibiting companies the opportunity to present their products in an environment close to the POS, thus demonstrating an authentic presentation of goods to trade visitors.

The Koelnmesse managers also had some major and minor sensations in store for the people of the press: namely, there will be a completely new sequence of days at the event after next, i.e. in 2026: the hardware fair will then be held from Tuesday to Friday. This is to meet the wishes of the new generation of decision-makers. For ten years now, the number of visitors on Sundays has been declining. For 2024, the traditional sequence of days, Sunday to Wednesday, will still apply.

In the course of the renaissance of trade fairs mentioned by Oliver Frese, after the International Hardware Fair Italy in Bergamo in May, it will be held in alternation with the Cologne parent event, so the next time will be in May 2025. There will also be a spectacular new foundation already this year: the International Hardware Fair India will take place in New Delhi on 2 to 4 December 2023. The China International Hardware Show, also co-organised by Koelnmesse, will take place this year as planned from 19 to 21 September.