INHORGENTA MUNICH opens, bright prospects for German sector
MUNICH, Germany, February 10, 2012 – Footfall was strong on the first day of the INHORGENTA MUNICH trade fair and the outlook for Germany´s jewellery and watches sector in 2012 appeared bright despite worries over the euro zone debt crisis.
The February 10-13 show, formerly known as inhorgenta and now re-branded as INHORGENTA MUNICH, has expanded this year and has a total of 1,134 exhibitors from 37 countries, 62 more exhibitors than last year, said Klaus Dittrich, Chairman and CEO of organiser Messe Munchen GmbH.
“In addition to regular exhibitors such as Meister and H. D. Krieger, as well as Schoeffel, Gellner, Casio and Fossil, we also welcome important new exhibitors, such as Michel Herbelin or Damaso Martinez from Spain,” Dittrich told a news conference.
He added that, in terms of net exhibition space, the fair had also expanded.
“The increase in comparison to the last event is 4.9 percent, bringing the total to 33,337 square metres,” Dittrich said.
The figures for pre-registration of visitors showed a roughly 5.8 percent increase on last year´s show. In 2011, 32,292 trade visitors came to inhorgenta in Munich.
Despite concerns over the euro zone debt crisis, prospects for the German jewellery and watches sector in 2012 were bright after strong domestic sales and exports in 2011, said Thilo Bruckner, Principal Managing Director, Bundesverband Schmuck und Uhren.
“In the new year this positive trend looks set to continue,” Bruckner said.
However, he added that this was no time to be complacent as worries over the possibility of a Greek default persisted.
“People are on their guard in view of what is going on in Greece,” he said.
“We are aware that there are high risks. If you look at what could happen in Greece, things could worsen.”
With relatively low unemployment in Germany, many consumers were still willing to spend on jewellery and watches, Bruckner said.
A climate of low interest rates meant that many people were more inclined to spend money on jewels and watches than leave it in the bank.
Platinum jewellery sales had performed well in Germany over Christmas, auguring well for 2012, said Gertrud Gros-Stahl, Managing Director of Platin Gilde International Deutschland.
Platinum has become increasingly affordable relative to gold, she said.
“Interest rates do not give high yields. A large number of customers in Germany have decided to buy top quality jewellery,” she added.
Platinum Guild has a high profile at INHORGENTA MUNICH, and is again showing competition pieces in the Platinum Promenade.
An international jury will be selecting the winners from a range of special platinum jewellery.
PANDORA HAS HIGH PROFILE
Pandora also has a high profile at INHORGENTA MUNICH to underscore its big impact in the trade across the world, said Kim Wandel Olsen, Managing Director, Pandora Dach.
“We have a big booth to state that we have one of the biggest brands in the world,” he said.
Pandora, which continues to expand its concept stores around the world, is focusing on raising its brand profile, and is constanty introducing new lines, he said.
Pandora now has 10,000 points of sale in 65 countries.
EXPERT FORUM
INHORGENTA MUNICH is presenting an export forum for the first time, called “The INHORGENTA MUNICH Future Vision Summit 2012”.
International companies and research institutions will be presenting their visions and ideas for the future.
The industrial designer Professor Fritz Frenkler from The Technical University of Munich will be speaking on the subject of “The Future of Industrial Design”.
Airbus Manager Nicolas Tschechne will be talking about “Luxury in Commercial Aviation”, and Wolfgang Muller-Pietralla, Head of Future Research and Trend Transfer at Volkswagen AG, is giving a lecture on “Mobility 2030: An Essential Luxury.”
On Sunday, February 12, Didier Brodbeck from Paris will give a talk on “The Miracle of the Golden Pearl”.
“In this talk Didier will be illustrating the comeback of the pearl over the last 25 years, a development due mainly to Tahitian pearls which have given the market an enormous boost,” Dittrich said.
