Over 260 brands from more than 20 countries presented themselves at the ILM in Offenbach from August 31 to September 2. “In volatile, challenging times, we offer the industry a reliable place for information and inspiration. In Offenbach, business is done and the course for the future is set.” This is how trade fair managing director Arnd Hinrich Kappe summed up the importance of the ILM after its 160th edition. The three days at the end of August/beginning of September also confirmed: The ILM is and remains the most important marketplace for the leather goods, accessories and luggage industry.
According to Messe Offenbach, in addition to the traditional leather goods retailers, more and more shoe and textile retailers as well as buyers from well-known department and concept stores are visiting the fair. Nevertheless, the situation in the retail sector is of course also leaving its mark on the ILM statistics. “Overall, the number of visitors has decreased,” reports Arnd Hinrich Kappe. However, the quality of the orders placed at the ILM has increased to “an excellent level.”
This is also confirmed by various exhibitors. “We were busy throughout. It seems to me that the mood in the leather goods trade is better than in the textile trade. In terms of fashion, raffia and rivets are in demand, as are a lot of cognac, orange and red,” reports Stefan Bruder from the bag specialist Abro.
“We appreciate the opportunity to see and order all the important brands and products in one place over three days,” explains chain store owner Andreas Trebuss, explaining why he is visiting the ILM. Ralf Maurer from Leder Maurer in Böblingen adds: “We deliberately said to ourselves that we wanted to take off the glasses that we often wear when walking around the trade fair in order to specifically search for and add new suppliers. To do this, we are prepared to cross five of the usual appointments and to-dos off the list.”
Ralf Maurer is certainly not an isolated case. And yet there are probably too few retailers who consciously break their routines and look for new suppliers. “The number of visitors is just not good,” said Andreas Schweneker, Managing Director of Stamps, frustrated on Monday morning. Together with his daughter Marla Neuschaefer, he presented the collection of the bag and accessories label, which places value on the most sustainable production possible, for the first time at the ILM. Despite the low response, he does not question the importance of the ILM for the industry. In principle, it is the right place for Stamps, because: “The few customers we spoke to were pleasantly surprised.” The question therefore arises as to how the number of visitors can be increased. Schweneker has events in mind, among other things. The breakfast on the Sunday of the trade fair, which was organized together with fellow exhibitors in Hall A4, attracted visitors. “Perhaps you have to appeal to people on their stomachs.”
“The most important thing at the trade fair is the entertainment. Customers want to feel comfortable. The exchange counts,” says Georg Picard from the company of the same name. “For the industry, the ILM is more than an order platform. It is the indispensable marketplace. The discussions focused on topics such as sustainability, marketing and social media.”
“The ILM is the ideal place to develop new concepts together with our customers in order to specifically and successfully address the sometimes uncertain end consumers,” confirms Dave de Boer from Fashion Solutions (Valentino, Guess, Mandarina Duck, etc.) on behalf of many of his fellow exhibitors.
Against this background, many exhibitors hope that the classic leather goods trade in particular will visit the fair more often, even if the order budgets are tighter than in previous seasons.