“The current special basic conditions in the interior design industry make the practicability of imm cologne almost impossible.” These are the words of Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse, putting a definitive end to the 2022 edition of imm cologne, after negotiations that involved the executive board of Koelnmesse, as well as the Association of the German Furniture Industry and outstanding exponents of the industry on an international level.
The event has been canceled, and postponed to 2023.
“Following consultation with numerous exhibitors, industry representatives and trading partners, there is either no question of participation on the part of German exhibitors or exhibitors from the German-speaking region – or this is very much in doubt,” says Jan Kurth, CEO of the Association. The same is true of many other European countries.
In short, the success of imm cologne 2022 was clearly at risk, also due to the general situation of the pandemic, especially in Central Europe.
This was a very difficult decision (there had still be hope of holding a physical fair in January as scheduled, thanks to confirmation from about 600 exhibitors by mid-October), but “we consider it to be our obligation to take this step now in close consultation with the industry. In this way we provide clarity and planning security in the interests of our exhibitors,” Frese continues. “In our shared perspective, an imm cologne with its claim as a leading trade fair for the interior design industry is not realizable in the current situation.”
Today’s cancelation applies only to the January event: the organization will continue to work on the “sister” events of Spoga+Gafa (19-21 June 2022) and Orgatec (25-29 October 2022), as well as for B2B events in the coming spring.
