By taking action to improve long-standing features of the trade show, as well as introducing new elements and a brand-new display category, the organizers of the International Trade Fair for Retail Promotions and Imports (IAW) have put this year’s Autumn Fair on the road to success. Europe‘s leading trade show for orders will be taking place in Halls 6 and 9 at the Cologne exhibition centre from Wednesday, 19th to Friday, 21st September.
Trade show organizer Kerstin Manke is optimistic: “In the run-up to every IAW show there are new challenges to face and innovative changes to implement. Things can get a bit tense, especially if we are introducing a new exhibition category, but it’s exciting.” She is referring to the trade show’s new “e-commerce quarter”, where some new exhibitors from e-commerce, including suppliers of systems and services, will be on hand to answer questions, offer advice and solutions in diverse areas of digital retailing. However, it is the popular E-commerce Arena staged by restposten.de / GKS Handelssysteme GmbH, with its high-calibre speakers and informative talks, which again forms the heart of this particular area in hall 9. The line-up of keynote speakers includes Mark Steier and Michael Gross, who will be presenting an eBay LiveHack, while marketing specialist Gil Lang will speak on the success of private labels.
Known as a multichannel rock star, the e-commerce expert Michael Atug will present a series of talks featured by zentrada.network entitled “Multichannel Rocks!” at the Trendforum. Conventional retailing is the subject of a panel discussion on the future of brick-and-mortar trade and there will also be a power sales “Entersalesment” session, kicked off by the sales experts Tosin A. David, Ralf Kühler and Elmar Fedderke. The Trendforum in hall 6 is also the venue for the presentation of the IAW Trendseller Product Award, which celebrates products selected by experts from among the IAW exhibits on the basis of their exceptional commercial and trend-setting potential.
Admission to all events is free of charge and does not require prior registration. The full program can be found at www.iaw-messe.de/e-commerce-quarter.aspx. and www.iaw-messe.de/trendforum_de.aspx. Trade show boss Ulrich Zimmermann emphasizes: “The program of talks reads like the “who’s who” of this sector. It is really great that we can get so many top people together. These high-calibre speakers provide such a concentration of expertise that it is easy to forget that the IAW is not a specialist Congress but an orders fair”, concluding, “actually it is both.”
With once again more than 350 exhibitors from across the world, the IAW is an international orders fair, offering excellent prices and a diverse range of products arrayed on a total area of 30,000 m². Trade visitors, including suppliers from the UK, Asian manufacturers, importers from Eastern Europe and buyers from the wholesale, retail and online trades, can find the best deals for retail and a wide choice covering every product segment, e.g. food, beauty and care products, household goods, toys and games, electrical goods, garments, small items of furniture, private labels and more besides.
Kerstin Manke expects around 9,000 international trade visitors, pointing out that it is easy to register for free admission to the IAW on the official website www.iaw-messe.de. “We listened carefully to the needs of our visitors, implementing the necessary changes for the IAW Autumn Fair. The retail business is moving on, and so is the IAW. This transformation is good for all players and I am really looking forward to the upcoming International Trade Fair for Retail Promotions and Imports.”
