TRADE FAIRS – A MIRROR
IMAGE OF THE ECONOMY
Outstanding trade fairs with a long tradition, successful premieres and one de-
parture – HMC continuously refines its trade fair portfolio to align events and
trade shows more closely with the needs of the target group.
TRADE FAIRS are a mirror image
of the economy. Location, the eco-
nomic situation and the interests
of exhibitors, visitors, policy-makers
and associations are factors that
can make or break a trade fair’s
success or affect its general imple-
mentation. HMC adapts its port-
folio accordingly.
While events organised by HMC
itself such as the SMM, INTER-
NORGA, GET Nord, NORTEC, Hanse-
Pferd or hanseboot scored top
marks in 2014 with impressive
exhibitions and excellent results
in some cases, DU UND DEINE
WELT was held for the last time
in October. Changes in consumer
behaviour precipitated by the tough
competition posed by online trad-
ing, an increasing number of broadly
based shopping centres and ex-
tended shop opening times had
made it more and more difficult to
position this multi-sector consumer
fair that had been running since
1955 even with the help of elabo-
rate additional offerings.
BY CONTRAST, HMC recorded
a number of successful, promising
premieres. Nordstil – Regional Order
Days Hamburg – not only seam-
lessly superseded but also signifi-
cantly improved on its predecessor
event earlybird in terms of both
quality and quantity. Since January
2014, the fair for trade visitors has
been hosted twice per year by
Messe Frankfurt on the site of Ham-
burg Messe und Congress GmbH.
FOLLOWING THE MOVE from
Husum to Hamburg, the premiere
of the world’s leading exhibition in
the wind energy industry had been
awaited with anticipation and on
23-26 September, more than 33,000
trade visitors came from all parts of
the world to get information from
1,200 exhibitors from 32 countries
at the first WindEnergy Hamburg.
It was well received by companies,
visitors and associations alike –
they felt that it was the right deci-
sion to conduct the expo, which is
organised by HMC in cooperation
with Husum Messe & Congress, in
Hamburg.
✱ ✱ ✱
1955 – 2014 The end of an era
The long-running consumer trade fair DU
UND DEINE WELT was competing with a
growing trend in online trading, large shop-
ping centres and extended shop opening
times. It became necessary to end the trade
fair for economic reasons because unlike
other consumer fairs and exhibitions in
Hamburg such as REISEN HAMBURG or
HansePferd Hamburg, which have clearly
defined topics and target groups, accept-
ance of this multi-industry trade show had
steadily declined.
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Hamburg Messe und Congress | Annual Report 2014
A RECORD YEAR