Mixed FEELINGS

complete for visitors to get a good return on their investment.”

This was echoed by Durable CEO Rolf Schifferens. “The absence of many companies from the sector was criticised by customers,” he noted. “An increase is therefore needed for the next Ambiente, as otherwise a visit to the fair is not worthwhile from the customer’s point of view.”

Messe Frankfurt was understandably jubilant that buyers and suppliers could once again gather in person last month for its largest consumer goods fair, Ambiente (now co-located with Christmasworld and Creativeworld).

The event previously took place in early February 2020, a year which was hit by the double whammy of the onset of COVID-19 and Storm Ciara. In 2022, it was cancelled at the last minute due to the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant across Europe.

The organiser’s press release referred to a “sensational comeback”, with sold-out exhibition halls and visitors from 170 countries. “Our new one-stop shop concept is working,” said Detlef Braun, Member of the Executive Board at Messe Frankfurt, citing the “overwhelming participation and tremendous nationality” at Ambiente 2023.

Seal Of Approval

Hopax European Sales and Marketing Director Stuart Seymour was certainly impressed, having participated at every Paperworld since 1998. “My main impression was that the whole event was much bigger than I expected,” he told OPI, admitting he was not sure what to expect after seeing many familiar names from our sector were not exhibiting.

The lack of these suppliers was also something noted by other attendees. “Some major players in our industry were missing which would have attracted more traffic to Hall 4.2,” stated Danny Berendsen, EMEA Sales Director at Bi-silque. “The pallet of manufacturers needs to be more diverse and

Mark The Date

The next Ambiente will take place from 26-30 January 2024, with Creativeworld running from 27-30 January

ONE CONCEPT, TWO HALLS

From a workplace perspective, there were two main locations at Ambiente Working: Hall 4.2, which was dubbed ‘Office Heroes’, and Hall 3.1, where a Future of Work area also included a lecture programme around the theme of ‘new work’.

It was a setup that was not particularly appreciated. OPI Commercial Director Chris Exner described the layout in Hall 4.2 as “unstructured and chaotic”. This was probably due to Messe Frankfurt’s need to fill the space, resulting in suppliers from the hobby and craft sectors occupying booths to make up for the shortfall in business products vendors. He also lamented the lack of workplace suppliers in Hall 3.1, which largely comprised exhibitors from the homewares and furnishings segments.

Messe Frankfurt’s argument is that “the workplace is increasingly merging into social places where interaction and social exchange take place”.

One satisfied vendor was German furniture firm Country Living, which develops products tailored to work-from-home and co-working spaces. Managing Director Diane Wendel described it as “an exciting time”, with verticals such as the hotel industry now looking to play a greater role as work destinations.

Frank Indenkämpen, Managing Director of Novus Dahle, described the fact that Ambiente Working was split between Halls 3.1 and 4.2 as a “weak point” of the event.

“In order to motivate more manufacturers to exhibit, the office must be celebrated in all its aspects,” he stated. “This means ‘traditional’ product portfolios alongside concepts of new work and suppliers of furniture and technology – in one place. They all bring something to the table when it comes to managing office work, now and in the future.”

Schifferens agreed: “As exhibitors, we would like to see an improved concept for the Working area, including the merging of the Future of Work and Office Heroes spaces.”

Glass Half Full

This is not to say that Ambiente Working was all doom and gloom for former Paperworld enthusiasts. Far from it, in fact. Georg Bettin, Managing Director of Acme United Europe, said the show had been “extremely good” for the company, describing both the quantity and quality of visitors as “excellent”, despite former Paperworld customers only paying a fleeting visit or not attending at all.

The low number of competing exhibitors also provided Acme with something of a captive audience, which boosted attendance to its stand. “I’m very happy we decided to give Ambiente a chance,” Bettin enthused, contrasting it with last year’s Insights-X show, which he described as “a disaster”.

Bi-silque tested the waters in 2023 with an ‘express’ meeting point rather than a fully-fledged booth. Berendsen said meetings had been set up beforehand with visitors from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and South America.

“For these customers, Frankfurt is still the place to meet up with European manufacturers like Bi-silque so, from that point of view, it was very successful,” he said.

Seymour similarly said he was pleased so many clients had visited the Hopax stand and provided some interesting numbers regarding attendance. “We had meetings with 36% of our European customers, responsible for 44% of our business in 2022,” he revealed.

“Compare this with 2020, when we met with 41% of our European customers, responsible for 45% of our revenue in 2019. Therefore, although the number of meetings with existing clients was down by 5%, we were more than satisfied these represented a similar proportion of our European business.”

Seymour also pointed to potential new customers, although the number of leads to follow up was about half of the 2020 figure. “As always, however, the most important adage is quality, not quantity,” he said.

Keep An Open Mind

Despite some criticism, Schifferens too said Durable was “satisfied”, noting the quality of the discussions was “good”, even if visitor numbers had been far below expectations.

Indenkämpen commented that Novus Dahle had done “everything possible” to ensure its partners from around the world came to have a look at the new concept. “The show itself was really good, with lots of visitors and packed halls. These are two things which, as an exhibitor, you really like to see.”

The Hopax exec further noted the different atmosphere of Ambiente compared to Paperworld, saying Messe Frankfurt’s changes might not be appreciated by all. However, he suggested people should be understanding and keep an open mind – he will certainly recommend the company attends again next year.

Indenkämpen, meanwhile, is concerned that those who visited specifically for Ambiente Working in 2023 had a “disappointing first experience”, something which might deter them from returning next year.

“It is imperative more business products folks take part in the show in 2024 and realise this is a big chance to reinvent our industry,” he stated. “If this doesn’t happen, the ‘office’ won’t have a real international podium anywhere in the future, which would be a shame.”

Berendsen agreed: “As an industry, we can have a great influence in making Ambiente a key event in the calendar. We all need to embrace it, as the requirement to meet and network once a year and see products is still very high.”

The ball is now in Messe Frankfurt’s court to determine how Ambiente Working is organised going forward. All is not lost by any means, but there is definitely work to be done on the concept.