“One thing is clear: not only did the sun beam brightly over the Hamburg trade fair grounds for three days, but so did the participants – and that out of sheer joy. Nordstil scored highly with an excellent order mood, trends, inspiration, and business galore. With refreshing new product ranges that keep customers’ spirits up – also in terms of consumption - in challenging times, Nordstil Winter was the best and very first order and business platform of the year. As always, it scored points with its pleasant atmosphere, familiarity and relaxed mood,” emphasised Julia Uherek, Vice President Consumer Goods Fairs. The trade audience was thrilled by the countless innovations from the five product groups and the inspiring pioneering spirit of the accompanying fringe programme. The Kitchen & Gourmet and Gifts & Stationery product areas attracted particular interest. In addition, the relocation of Jewellery & Fashion led to more new contacts in this segment. More visitors came to the Alster from Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands in particular.
In view of the increasing number of consolidations and insolvencies in the consumer goods market, the unexpectedly positive mood was a welcome surprise for all participants. Exhibitors and retailers alike used Nordstil to strengthen their own visibility and networks, and understand and experience market trends and customer needs. In this sense, from the point of view of the Trade Association for Home and Office (HWB), it was the perfect start into the trade fair year: “Short distances, clear structures and the combination of an order fair, trend islands and interesting expert lectures are what make a visit to Nordstil so valuable for the retail trade. In terms of home trends, the Style & Design section is a real treasure trove of inspiring ideas, with Scandinavian design traditionally playing a major role in Hamburg. Another advantage of Nordstil is the mix of well-known brands and a wide range of newcomers. Every retailer can put together their own individual product mix here,” confirms Beate Schraml, Director GPK (glass, porcelain and ceramics) at the German Trade Association Handelsverband Wohnen und Büro.
Stephanie Böhm, owner of Landsitz Mehle/Gut Koldingen garden furniture, is thrilled: “I have appreciated Nordstil for many years. For me, it is always a very good opportunity to refresh my contacts and knowledge, and it’s a consistently relaxed and inspiring trade fair experience”. Sylvia and her daughter Katharina Hohmann from Betten Hohmann in Hanover are here for the first time: “Inspired by Pip Studio and Cawö, we are looking for beautiful gift items to expand our range of beds – we don't need a lot, but we are looking for special, original items such as olive oils or spices, and we are sure that we will find here what we are looking for.”
High visitor and exhibitor satisfaction
The visitor survey again revealed high satisfaction levels. Overall, 96 per cent of visitors were satisfied with their visit. 90 per cent were satisfied with the range of products on display. This also reflected well on the exhibitors, who particularly appreciated the high number of visitors and the many new customer contacts. “The first day of Nordstil was the best day of any trade fair in our company's history – and that's been the case for 34 years across all international trade fairs we attended. The booth was full from morning to evening, and that in these times. Nordstil Hamburg impresses with its relaxed, professional atmosphere. Small but perfectly formed, it is efficiently unassuming in a positive way. The whole package in Hamburg is coherent, because many people come together here who really enjoy their work, and that's what makes for a cool event,” confirms Christian Schmidt, Managing Director of Gift Company. This sentiment is shared by a number of exhibitors across all product segments. “The curiosity and the mood for discoveries, the good spirit are back and the pessimism of recent years has evaporated, as reflected by the buyers. I am extremely satisfied, even pleasantly surprised, given the market situation. Visitor numbers are very good, with around 50 per cent of them being new customers. In particular, smaller concept stores from the coastal region and from all over Germany are represented here,” confirms Thomas Poganitsch, managing director of the Viennese manufacturer Formpoet. “We have noticed significantly more customers and a higher number of orders, as well as a noticeable increase in the number of visitors from southern Germany this time. We hadn't expected such a positive mood. The specialist retailers here radiate optimism, which also gives us confidence and inspires us. Nordstil has got off to a good start,” summarises Tim Schuberth, sales manager at Grafikwerkstatt.
New ideas for the point of sale
The wide-ranging fringe programme encouraged discussion of the latest hot topics – such as the lectures and tours at the Nordstil Forum, where there was particularly strong demand for the topics of visual merchandizing with a wow effect, the guided tour to particularly sustainability-oriented exhibitors from the Ethical Style programme, and the trend towards reduced-alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks. The Village offered inspiring ideas for product presentation at the point of sale. The Buddelhelden convinced with their fine selection of fine wines and spirits. The Nordlichter promotional area thrilled the trade audience with creative innovations from curated young designers, start-ups and manufactories with a strong sense of design and sustainability. Maike Burghardt, Laut Germany, confirmed that the newcomers' area Anleger is a great place for new exhibitors and returning exhibitors from all product areas to meet: “Saturday was great. People are looking for new products and want to place orders directly. It was a great first experience of a trade fair for us, as we tend to exhibit at tech-focused trade fairs with our phone cases. So the Anleger was very good for us to test the trade fair appearance without much hassle.” Andrea Bildstein of Picture Pebbles agrees: “The Anleger is a good area to be seen and to make interesting contacts”. This year, the newcomer area has grown to include 19 new participants.
Highlight: trend islands offered a wide range of product lines to boost sales
The trend islands offered an exclusive, compact outlook at the upcoming trends for spring/summer 2025 with a curated selection by Karin Wahl, visual merchandising expert. The coming season is characterised by polarity and deceleration – two contrasting but harmonious trend directions. Vibrant, contrasting colour worlds meet soft tones and materials, creating space for individuality and targeted customer appeal. Polarity is created by a blue purple in combination with a yellow-green or silver. In terms of materials, aluminium, glass bricks and raw textures play a role. A bright and flowing colour spectrum offers a sense of deceleration, moving from a subdued coral to a soft light blue and a dreamy pink. Materials such as wood, stone and other organic qualities reflect the ongoing yearning for closeness to nature. For retailers, the trend directions open up the opportunity to create versatile trend islands at the POS that convey both excitement and tranquility.
In addition, particularly innovative approaches stood out among the Ethical Style offerings. For example, Fairwerk with high-quality wood designs made in Germany in collaboration with workshops for people with disabilities; Riema with cuddly soft blankets made from 100 per cent organic or recycled cotton; Recozy that create vases in 3D print from old food packaging, chic.mic with a comprehensive sustainable approach or Airpag, that design upcycled car airbags and seat belts into sustainable, unique bags. Further sustainable offers can be discovered throughout the year using the online exhibitor search.
Regionality in practice and sustainability: The Nordstil winter edition plant decorations are used beyond the trade fair. This time they are going to the Finkenau music kindergarten in Hamburg, where they will brighten up and refresh the premises.
The next Nordstil Summer will take place from 26 to 28 July 2025. And the next Nordstil Winter will take place from 10 to 12 January 2026.
Information for journalists: Further details and photographic material can be found at www.nordstil.messefrankfurt.com/press
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[1] In the winter of 2024, 749 exhibitors exhibited at Nordstil, certified by FKM, and 13,150 visitors attended.
Background information on Messe Frankfurt:
www.messefrankfurt.com/background-information
Sustainability at Messe Frankfurt:
www.messefrankfurt.com/sustainability
Background information on Conzoom Circle