Germany : 'More' concept for home & household textiles

In less than a month, the Heimtextil, International Trade Fair for Home and Contract Textiles, will open the textile-fair year in Frankfurt am Main from 9 to 12 January 2008. The leading fair for textile furnishings has a fixed place in the calendars of international manufacturers, dealers, buyers, interior architects, designers and interior decorators.
Next January, the Heimtextil will be distinguished by an improved structure for the range of premium home and household textiles, as well as several extravagant special shows and events that reveal the latest trends and give young designers the chance to present their ideas.
"In 2008, the Heimtextil will embed the subjects and innovations of the home-textile sector in a concept full of highlights.
Bathroom textiles will appear in the luxurious Crystal Waves special show with the 'Swarovski bathroom made by Kludi', bed linen and bedroom fabrics will be shown in the Concept Square with new ideas for the trade while textiles for interior furnishings will make their debut at 'Outside In', an urban villa with a view of the garden", says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President, Textile Fairs.
The concept has generated a positive echo on the exhibitor side: on the finishing straight before the fair, it can already be said that the number of exhibitors will be comparable to last year's total.
'More' – the premium segment for home and household textiles
A corner stone of the forthcoming Heimtextil will be – analogously to the premium segment for household textiles – the revised product presentation for home textiles based on the 'More' concept, the aim of which is to create greater transparency at the fair and offer easier access to the range of products on show.
Thus, from 2008, visitors will find manufacturers of premium textile furnishings under the heading 'More'. For the first time, Heimtextil 2008 will also provide an exclusive forum for producers and suppliers of high-grade home textiles: 'More Living' brings together exhibitors from the 'window', 'upholstery' and 'floor' product groups.
They include exhibitors such as Vorwerk, Drapilux, ADO, Textiles Vilber, Wecon/Esprit and Rafael Catala as well as 'editeurs' such as Mira-X, JAB Anstoetz, Nya Nordiska, Saum & Viebahn and Cocoon.
'More Clarity' and 'More Style' put the focus on household textiles from the 'bed', 'bath' and 'table' segments. In 'More Clarity' (Hall 9.1), European textile manufacturers of classic designs, some of whom work with small, exclusive batches, present their high-grade products.

They include Caleffi SPA, Manterol, Christian Fischbacher and Schlossberg Textil. "Schlossberg stands for exquisite, rich and timeless classicism with a modern feeling. Our products are distinguished by style, taste and sophistication.
Our customers take great pleasure in them for a long time because they are timeless in style and of the highest quality in terms of material and processing", explains Beatrice Kleiner, General Manager of Schlossberg Textil.
'More Style' in Hall 9.2 brings together international brands with fashion and trend oriented designs, such as Cawö Textil and Vossen, as well as licensees of Joop!, Sisley, Mexx and Esprit.
"Our partners from the specialist retail trade expect to see us in a high-grade setting, such as 'More Style'. Here, they find an area reserved exclusively for companies with top product quality, topical fashion trends and superior design.
For us, this is the ideal environment in which to show our Cawö and Joop! products", says Daniel Kordts, Marketing Manager of Cawö Textil
So that visitors can find their way better around the broad spectrum of products to be seen, the hall structure of Heimtextil 2008 has been optimised and adapted to visitor needs. Additionally, simplified names for the product groups will make orientation even easier, e.g, 'sleep & dream' has been renamed 'bed', 'fresh & splash' is now 'bath'.
'Outside In' showcases extravagant home textiles The 'Outside In' special show in the middle of Hall 3.1 showcases extravagant home textiles and transfers a modern urban villa and garden to the Heimtextil. In this connection, the show takes up the current architectural trend towards merging the indoor and outdoor areas of the home.
Three cubes house the sleeping, living and dining sections of the home. A fourth cube contains a bar and catering facilities. On a small boulevard, visitors can stroll through the area. Small wooden gangplanks lead to the themed cubes. Tables with benches are embedded in the lawns and plant containers and provide an opportunity to sit and rest for a while.
In 2007, over half of the 2,863 Heimtextil exhibitors from 68 countries came from Europe (59 percent), a good third from Asia (37 percent). Altogether, 84 percent of exhibitors at the Heimtextil were from outside Germany. The visitor side is also characterised by a high degree of internationality, and combined with a high level of buying authority. The almost 86,000 visitors came from 127 countries.
69 per cent of visitors work in the trade, sales, export, industry and purchasing field and hold executive or managerial positions, and are authorised to make purchasing decisions on behalf of their companies.