International furniture trade fair imm cancelled for 2025

The international furniture trade fair imm Cologne (Internationale Möbelmesse) has been cancelled for 2025. Show organiser Koelnmesse decided together with the association of the German furniture industry VDM and the trade association of furniture and kitchens BVDM to postpone the January edition of imm cologne 2025 after intensive discussions, the company says. This is Koelnmesse's response to the current difficult conditions facing the furniture industry, particularly in Germany. According to the show organiser, this decision gives all parties involved the opportunity to work with Koelnmesse to develop a new trade fair format.

The main reason for this is the difficult economic situation for German furniture manufacturers, the lack of demand for furniture in the domestic market and the resulting understandable budgetary restraint in the industry.

According to the latest industry figures provided by VDM, the entire market recorded a significant decline in sales in 2023 and in the first half of 2024. For furniture as a whole, the decline was 9.7 per cent, and for upholstered furniture it was as high as 11.2 per cent. The number of employees and companies is also declining.