Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
spoga+gafa, which is the largest garden lifestyle trade fair in the world, took place in Cologne, Germany, from June 19-21, a new date for the trade fair. With over 25,000 visitors from 112 countries, spoga+gafa 2022 connected industry players from around the world and provided opportunities to network, view new products and meet vendors. Attendance was at pre-pandemic levels, with foreign attendees making up 67% of attendees, up from 65% in 2019.
“The quality and internationality of the visitors is outstanding. This has become clear from our discussions with the exhibitors,” says Oliver Frese, chief operating officer, Koelnmesse GmbH. “We have used the last 2.5 years to further develop spoga+gafa and are delighted to experience the first benefits here live. Thanks to the 365-day platform, which we initiated over the last weeks, spoga+gafa will in future also lend the green industry strong support all year round.”
Over 1,000 exhibitors from 52 countries shared new products.
“After two years of stop, it has been a great pleasure to come back to spoga+gafa. Thanks to our local presence in all European countries, we have been able to keep in close contact with all our customers in recent years, however this is the first international fair which has occurred for our industry since 2019. The attendance and the reply to our invitation have been warmly accepted,” says Simone Zesi, exhibitor and Bestway Europe chief executive officer. “We consider ourselves satisfied both regarding the affluence and the timing of the fair. Indeed, June is an important month for monitoring the sell-out and introducing our brand-new products for the 2023 summer season. We are grateful to our trusted customers and all the new contacts, who decided to visit us and see our 390 square meter booth with our new collection.”
This year’s theme focused on sustainability, with an emphasis on durable, reusable and resource-saving materials and products.
“We are delighted that the trade fair is finally taking place again,” says Anna Hackstein, executive director of the Industry Garden Association e.V. (IVG), the industry sponsor of spoga+gafa 2022. “We really missed the personal contact and it was good to be able to shake people’s hands again. There may have been fewer visitors here than before the pandemic, but the quality of the visitors is spot on. That is the decisive thing.”
While the trade fair was a success, it’s not over yet. On June 27, a new digital platform will launch for anyone to experience spoga+gafa. The platform will feature live interviews, recorded videos from the stage events during the trade fair and networking with vendors and more through the app.
spoga+gafa 2023 will take place June 18-20, 2023, in Cologne, immediately following the Global DIY Summit, which takes place in Berlin June 14-16, 2023. Learn more about the North American Hardware and Paint Association’s trip to the 2022 Global DIY Summit here.
Photos courtesy of Koelnmesse/spoga+gafa
