Full steam ahead, an excellent ordering mood and high level of visitor satisfaction at Nordstil

With around 19,000 trade visitors [1], large order volumes and a vast amount of networking, Winter Nordstil 2020 was a successful start to the year in the consumer goods industry of the North. The retailers, who primarily came to Hamburg from northern Germany and Scandinavia, are now ready to move full steam ahead into a successful new business year – with the latest products from 900 [2] mainly German, Dutch and Scandinavian exhibitors on board.

“We are very pleased because the high number of visitors and their excellent quality showed us one thing, in particular, at this year’s event: Whenever there’s an ongoing good mood among consumers, Nordstil proves more than at any other time that it has a firmly established role as the most important order and networking platform in the North,” says Philipp Ferger, Group Show Director. Despite conservative business forecasts, 2019 was a very successful year for retailers. According to estimates provided by the German Federal Statistical Office, total revenues increased by over three per cent, and Christmas revenues exceeded the 100 billion euro mark. This also benefited the North where, according to estimates by the northern German retailers’ association Handelsverband Nord, revenue increases were probably also three per cent at the end of the year. The good Christmas season was reflected in large order volumes placed by visitors at Nordstil. The level of satisfaction was very high among trade visitors, and their assessment of economic developments in their sector was far more positive than in the previous year.

However, shopping events such as Black Friday and Valentine’s Day were also powerful revenue drivers in 2019, showing the increasing relevance of inspirational merchandise presentations and shopping experiences. This is an area where Nordstil has become well established as a learning, contact and networking platform. As before, its live product and trend presentations offered visitors a valuable overview of market opportunities in the regional retail trade.

Exhibitors' voices:

Hall A2 (Gifts & Stationery)

Joerg Felting, Northern Field Sales Team Manager, Edding

“For years now Nordstil has been an important trade fair for us, enabling us to network directly with our customers in the North. This year’s event was an ideal platform for us to present Edding’s colourful new pastel range, which is particularly attractive for visitors with an early focus on the spring and Easter business. The outcome has been very positive for us. Our team were continually talking to customers, reaching not only regular ones but also a large number of new customers, mainly from Hamburg and the surrounding area.”

Hall A4 (Style & Design)

Shamika Dhuri, Sales and Business Development, Forrest & Love

“Our stand in the Style & Design Hall succeeded in bringing us together with our main target group: high-end concept stores in and around Hamburg with a focus on deli food. Our renewed presence at the trade fair was a great success: Even on the first day we achieved the same total revenue as the year before. We also gained some attractive new leads when we met various distributors from Denmark and Belgium.”

Hall B1.0 (Home & Garden)

Sabrin Neubauer, Co-Founder, Gewürzglück

“We’re a young company from Bavaria, and our combination of deli food and gifts targets an obvious niche. Nordstil is our opportunity to reach out, especially to retailers from tourist resorts like Northern seaports. During the run-up to the event, we were wondering how the move to the new hall might affect our business. Well, we've come to the conclusion that the balancing act between the two gourmet halls was an absolute success. The amount of footfall that passed our stand was very lively. We can judge our success mainly by the large number of new customers we gained. Our regular customers would find us anyway.”

Hall B7 (Jewellery & Fashion)

Peggy Wendel, Sales, TazTrade

“As a Dutch manufacturer of beach bags and beach towels, it was particularly important for us this year to present our Happiness brand at a joint stand with Showroom 019°. The fashion wholesaler from Hamburg has been our sales partner since the end of 2019, and our joint brand presentation at Nordstil was highly successful. We gained a large number of new customers from the tourist islands of the North.”

Nordstil Trends 2020

Trends in gifts, home accessories and lifestyle centre around things that give us a good feeling. Calm, natural colours such as white, cream, beige and sand create an atmosphere of harmony and relaxation. A touch of splendour is added by metallic refinements in gold and copper. Classic Blue – Pantone colour 2020 – plays a special role. This note of confidence adds an elegant maritime element to today’s lifestyle trends. And, anticipating spring, an effervescent quality is added by a vitalising fountain of loud crimson and orangey red as well as light tones of blue, mint and green. Together with Classic Blue, they give us a yearning for summer and the seaside.

Textures are now far more at the forefront than ever before. Exciting knitted and woven textiles meet with velvet, fur fabric and corduroy that are simply lovely to touch. In stationery we come across creative themes, underlined by haptic qualities. These go hand in hand with the important handicraft look. Moreover, aspects of originality and craftsmanship now dominate the contemporary designs of items made of wood, ceramics and metal, while lace and crochet add an element of youth and freshness. And of course mindful buying patterns are a must for the generations of today and tomorrow. Young labels, in particular, put the emphasis on recycling and upcycling as well as on innovative sustainable materials in their collections of bags, backpacks and personal accessories.

The next Summer Nordstil will take place from 25 to 27 July 2020, and the next Winter Nordstil from 16 to 18 January 2021.