The brands are back in town – this year’s motto for Insights-X fitted the event perfectly. The trade fair for stationery, office, bags and more enjoyed great success from October 11 to 14 at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre with the return of the major brands and companies.
In total, 191 domestic and international key players and startups from 27 countries presented a wide-ranging selection to the trade. The 3,519 top visitors and purchasers from 71 different countries welcomed the innovative power of the event and the direct face-to-face conversations. The enjoyable atmosphere continued seamlessly into the evening networking events at which the sector celebrated in a relaxed style.
Broad trading landscape
“Insights-X has noticeably gained pace again after the pandemic,” said Christian Ulrich, spokesperson of the Executive Board at Spielwarenmesse eG. “Visitor numbers alone grew by 39% compared with the previous year.” Among the top visitor groups to this, the only independent trade fair for the stationery sector in Germany, were well-known wholesalers and retailers, drugstores and supermarkets, along with buying associations from across Europe – including among others Alibaba, Amazon, Carrefour, Coop, Kaufland, Lidl, McPaper, Rewe, Rossmann, Staples, Thalia and TJX. This was already the third visit for Sarah Vagdy, buyer for Otto Office: “I like Insights-X – it’s well organised. You can quickly comprehend and sort out the new trends.” Tarek A. Tabaja, vendor manager at Amazon EU, identified another benefit during his visit: “It’s much easier meeting up with all my contacts in one place than making appointments individually.” The sector stands firmly behind Insights-X – the Handelsverband Büro und Schreibkultur held its own conference at the Exhibition Centre, while duo schreib & spiel also held its autumn conference. The new eXtra-Day was aimed specifically at retailers from the German-speaking DACH region. According to Michael Fortdran, managing director at Undercover, the new arrangements for the four days proved ideal: “The Saturday of the fair was received very positively by the specialist trade. We saw a good number of visitors.”
Successful comeback
Faber-Castell, duo schreib & spiel, the Iden Group and STABILO also recorded successes at Insights-X as they returned to the autumn fair. “It’s the perfect timing for displaying new introductions. It’s valuable to have direct, face-to-face conversations with all the customers,” emphasised Andreas Stark, director sales Germany at STABILO International. Well-known brands and companies spoke of the fair in a similar tone: all of the key trading partners and decision-makers from the whole of Europe were represented and made plenty of time for meetings that were inspiring to both sides. “Insights-X is a trading venue at which we held high-quality discussions that will shape our business for the coming year,” commented Stefan Matschke, DACH sales manager at Faber-Castell. Maresa Puls, head of marketing at the Iden Group, similarly valued the open exchange between industry and the trade: “The level of interest in innovative ideas and solutions encouraged and inspired us. What’s more, the InsightsArena allowed us to expand our understanding of the latest developments in the sector.” This special area at the fair, designed with an urban look, offered suggestions for displays of products at point of sale using the Insights-X Trends – ‘Paper Love’, ‘Vintage Nostalgia’, ‘Colorful Joy’ and ‘License Stars’.
Open to new ideas
The shared stands and newcomers also contributed to creative product ideas. New Pen, from Serbia, was one of last year’s young businesses at Insights-X. “Because of the overwhelming success”, they returned this year with their own stand. “Our calendar was fully booked. We managed to gain new customers, which is terrific for us,” commented COO Dragan Marković. The strong visitor numbers can also be attributed to a higher attendance among international buyers at this year’s stationery expo. Managing director Lisa Dellermann of the startup business Solufi noted: “We were able to make contact with markets that weren’t going to be on our radar till next year, such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the UAE, Portugal, Spain and Austria.” The two events that took place once the fair had closed for the day also provided plenty of time for networking. As well as the established AfterHour on the first evening, the new OrangeNight on the Friday, which took place in a relaxed atmosphere with a DJ in the InsightsArena, was particularly well received. Each of these special networking opportunities was used by 500 participants and both exemplified the sense of togetherness in the sector. “The party atmosphere was great,” commented Elena d‘Urso, communication marketing manager at Italian company Incall. Those who missed the unique live event for the stationery sector will have the opportunity to attend the next Insights-X, which takes place in Nuremberg from October 16 to 19 2024.
