Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The first day of spoga+gafa 2019 has come to a close. For the first time in the event’s history, the lawn and garden expo in Cologne, Germany, took on a theme: city gardening. Each exhibitor presented solutions geared toward offering solutions for city residents or people who want to care for small indoor or outdoor green spaces.
More than 2,000 exhibitors from 60 countries set up in one of four dedicated spaces on the show floor. The categories at this year’s event each represent a different segment of City Gardening: Garden Unique; Garden Creation & Care; Garden BBQ; and Garden Living.
On the show floor, attendees from more than 114 countries explored trends in planters, patio furniture and outdoor play equipment right alongside the latest hand and power tools, outdoor kitchen accessories and grills. There were countless chances to interact with manufacturers and learn more about their products. Many exhibitors led product demonstrations to see tools and trends in action.
First-time attendee Trent Kauffman says the breadth of opportunities on the show floor is one of the key reasons he came to spoga+gafa this year. As the merchandise manager for lawn and garden, plumbing and outdoor recreation for PRO Group, Kauffman came to spoga+gafa to discover the trends that will likely reach American markets in the next few years.
“Most of the manufacturers you see here are not typically the ones you see at North American events,” Kauffman says. “If retailers want to differentiate their operations in terms of products and assortments, this event would be a good place to do that research. It’s also a big show. It’s more than 2 million square feet of show floor space, and it’s full from one end to the other.”
The opportunities for inspiration continue into the passageways on the show floor. The Boulevard of Ideas showcases vignettes of merchandising ideas and trends for attendees to explore while they are traveling from one space to the next. These spots highlight new products from show floor exhibitors. Also beyond the show floor are POS Green Solutions, which provide ideas for how to merchandise lawn and garden products around POS spaces.
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