imm cologne 2021. It's time to get the engine running again

imm cologne to foster a safe relaunch for the interiors industry

There's no business like... more business. But how to find it and get the engine running again in the face of the current coronavirus outbreak is the question the entire industry is trying to answer. This is precisely why the team led by Matthias Pollmann and Claire Steinbrück is working to produce an imm cologne that will foster a successful relaunch for the whole sector.

“We’re looking to create a sense of a new beginning that inspires a desire for the new across the industry and in particular in the retail and wholesale trade. In these extraordinary times, we want to help the interiors industry to bring its new products to life. We firmly believe that the German market is virtually unrivalled in its strength and its potential to recover. This is why it is crucial for the industry and the trade fair to work together now as they draw up joint plans for relaunching their activities,” says Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. “imm cologne in January 2021 will be the first interiors show to be hosted after the outbreak of the pandemic, and it will offer businesses the opportunity to establish new contacts face-to-face again, which is something we have all missed - and we will present a host of new, innovative ideas even under these exceptional circumstances. Our goal is to form networks between people and ideas, to direct them towards paths to shared success, and to thereby foster a successful relaunch for the industry,” adds Matthias Pollmann, Vice President Trade Fair Management.

B-SAFE4BUSINESS

It is face-to-face contact that makes a trade fair. To ensure that this kind of networking is safe and as productive as possible, Koelnmesse has developed a series of seamlessly dovetailing measures that will guide interaction at the event. The goal is to promote a high level of professional confidence and to create an environment in which companies can grow. Koelnmesse has summarised its measures to protect the health of its exhibitors and visitors under four headings: SHOW SAFE, MEET SAFE, STAY SAFE and VISIT SAFE. These headings regulate the safe interaction of participants at the trade fair and will ensure that exhibitors and visitors can decide to attend the event with full confidence.

With a gross exhibition area of 280,000 square metres at its disposal, imm cologne has plenty of scope to distribute large numbers of participants safely across its spacious grounds. Koelnmesse's digital signage system offers a further advantage. Planning the stands with larger floor areas will ensure that minimum distances can be maintained. As a result, the number of visitors at a stand will not be limited, providing that a minimum distance of 1.5 metres between all participants can be observed.

“We will employ suitable technology to monitor the distribution of trade fair participants and flows of visitors, and will regulate them where necessary,” says Pollmann. The safety concept for the forthcoming co-located events also includes restricting the ticketing system to online tickets exclusively and fully registering all participants to ensure traceability.

imm cologne 2021 will be a special event because COVID-19 has changed so much. A whole range of established ideas about how we conceive our lives, organise our work environments and once behaved as consumers are now being questioned and revised. Digitalisation has accelerated phenomenally over the past weeks and months, and the digital transformation is now advancing rapidly at a speed that would have previously seemed unimaginable.

“Even if many things will be different in January 2021 to how they would usually be, we are driven by the vision of creating an unrivalled platform for business and inspiration at imm cologne 2021. We will play our part in making sure that the international interior design industry can start the new year with fresh momentum and energy,” concludes Pollmann.

Source: Koelnmesse
Photos: imm cologne 2020
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