News

14,000 visitors at the 11th ZOW in Bad Salzuflen
Clear indications of a recovery in the business climate

One year after its tenth birthday in 2004, ZOW in Bad Salzuflen has now drawn to a successful conclusion: 566 exhibitors and 14,000 visitors marked the start of a new decade for the east Westphalian supplier trade fair from 21 to 24 February. With signs of an economic recovery in the furniture industry, the atmosphere in the three halls of the exhibition center on the B 239 was predominantly positive, especially as many exhibitors had already signaled an upturn in the business climate before ZOW.

What was particularly pleasing for all participants was the fact that visitors were more evenly distributed across the four days of the event than in previous years. "The normally slower days, Monday and Thursday, managed to pick up, while Tuesday and Wednesday were not quite so frantic as usual," said SURVEY boss Peter H. Meyer, expressing his satisfaction with the course of the 11th ZOW. The slight change in visitor patterns also led to easing in other areas as well. While parking was made significantly easier by additional parking spaces and the well-rehearsed team of parking assistants and efficient shuttle service from and to the more outlying car parks, visitors to the restaurant this year were pleasantly surprised by the new waitress service instead of the usual buffet, leading to correspondingly shorter waiting times.

Visitor numbers above last year's level

The pulling power of the east Westphalian supplier event is undiminished. That much is clear from the 14,000 visitors who came (compared with 13,250 last year), demonstrating once again that ZOW is regarded in the industry as one of the most effective events for presenting new products. As in 2004, almost two thirds (64 %, or 8,900) of visitors came from Germany - further evidence that ZOW continues to steer the right course with the regional focus of its concept. The logical consequence of that is loyalty to the site, manifested by the planned expansion of hall capacity by more than 5000 m2 for ZOW 2006. In total, the fair grounds will be expanded by some 15,000 m2 as well as further car parks.

Foreign visitors came primarily from the Benelux countries, followed by the British Isles. A consistent rise in visitors from east European states is also apparent. Bad Salzuflen is experiencing ever increasing interest from the Baltic region, as well as Poland and the Czech Republic. "We see this as confirmation that our assessment of the target markets for ZOW in Bad Salzuflen is absolutely spot on," explains Peter H. Meyer.

Slight rise in the number of foreign exhibitors

While there was little change in the proportion of visitors from Germany and elsewhere, for the first time since ZOW began more foreign than German companies took advantage of the meeting-point for the furniture supplier industry as a platform for presenting themselves as exhibitors. Of the total of 566 exhibitors (up on 550 in the previous year), 291, i.e. a good 51 %, came from abroad, providing an international element. As in previous years, the main contingent came from Italy (116 exhibitors), followed by Austria, Spain and Great Britain.

The range of products exhibited was extremely extensive. Almost 40 product groups divided into eight areas demonstrate the diversity of the supplier parts required in this industry. The exhibitors in the semi-finished products segment, particularly front panels, semi-finished parts and ready-to-assemble furniture elements, were the most heavily represented. Suppliers of functional and decorative fittings were also very much in evidence.

Focus on innovation

70 companies at ZOW 2005 took part in what is now the third year of the "Innovations Scouting" campaign. They presented their innovations to a jury of experts comprising manufacturers and processors before the trade fair. The top 10 products this year came from the firms Dekodur, Eurocomponenti, Häfele, Kaindl, Kesseböhmer, Lechner, Merkt, Ravier, Rennerich and Schwinn. The innovations revealed a cross-section of trends: the main themes were more functionality in fittings, greater boldness in surfaces, new material mixes and new coatings, particularly through the use of glass.

Exhibitors and visitors were agreed that ZOW, now in its eleventh year, had again done exactly what it had promised: concentrating on the essentials and effective face-to-face communication as the basis for successful business. The next ZOW will take place from 20 to 23 February 2006.

SURVEY Marketing + Consulting GmbH & Co. KG (Deutschland) is a firm of management consultants specializing in marketing and business management in the b2b sector. Its main focus lies on the international furniture and furniture supplier industry. The firm has also enjoyed more than a decade of success organizing international meeting-points and business events for the industry.

For further information, please contact:
Carsten Krüger, PH MEYER Wirtschaftsberatung, Mittelstr. 50, 33602 Bielefeld,
Tel.: +49 (0) 5 21 - 9 65 33 15, Fax:+49 (0) 5 21 - 9 65 33 77,
e-mail: ck@phmeyer.de