The recent staging of EuroShop 2011, The Global Retail Trade Fair, in Düsseldorf, Germany was the largest ever: 2,038 exhibitors (compared to 1,911 at the 2008 event) from 53 nations showcased products, trends, and concepts on over 1.15 million square feet of net exhibit space to more than 106,000 visitors (compared to 104,766 in 2008).

The exhibitors unanimously reported good to excellent contacts and business deals and expect busy post-show business. The companies primarily praised the high internationality of EuroShop 2011. Over 60 percent of the visitors were from more than 90 countries around the globe, with a noticeable increase in attendees from Italy, Brazil, and the United States.  With 60 companies, the U.S. was also strongly represented on the exhibitor side, with six of those companies taking exhibiting within the successful U.S. Pavilion.

“This year’s EuroShop was phenomenal. After the severe crisis in 2009, the scheduling of EuroShop in 2011 was truly a stroke of luck both for the exhibiting industry and for us as organizers. All sectors of this industry are experiencing a dynamic upswing. The atmosphere in the halls was extremely positive,” stated Hans Werner Reinhard, Deputy Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf.

Professor Dr. Bernd Hallier, Chairman of the EuroShop Advisory Board and CEO of the EHI Retail Institute, agreed: “This great international interest demonstrates very clearly how dynamic global retail is and the exceptional position of EuroShop as its economic driver. At EuroShop the Who’s Who of international retail got together. Such a high-caliber audience cannot be found at any other retail trade fair in the world.”

EuroShop 2011 consisted of the four independent but connected exhibit segments: EuroConcept, EuroSales, EuroCIS and EuroExpo. And for the first time “sustainability” was a recurring theme across all areas. Visitors saw the Greenest EuroShop ever — from energy-saving refrigeration cabinets and the use of sustainable materials for shop fitting and display mannequins to regenerative energies and energy-saving technology for store lighting. “The implementation of our motto ‘naturally innovative’ met with enormous interest. Trade visitors were looking for detailed information on our latest environment-friendly products, services, and technologies. We welcomed about 1,000 visitors at our stand on every day of the trade fair,” explained Tiziana Raiteri, Marketing & Communication Manager at the Italian refrigeration furniture and systems manufacturer Arneg.

The first ECOpark at EuroShop was also very popular. The lectures presented at its forum by Honeywell London on the successful refitting of Walmart stores in Asia with LED lighting systems were a special attraction.

In the EuroConcept area, lighting proved to be one of the fastest-growing segments. Over 150 international lighting companies occupied one entire exhibit hall. Particularly important were the latest LED lighting solutions. Nicole Borngesser, Marketing Manager, Central Europe, at GE Lighting from Hungary, commented: “We are very happy with the way EuroShop went. We doubtlessly registered most interest in the LED segment. LED is clearly the technology of the future.”

In the EuroSales segment, numerous highlights were presented by the manufacturers of premium display mannequins, including abstract, elegant mannequins in high-impact black & white for the prime segment as well as colorful kids’ mannequins and unusual, cartoon-like groups of mannequins. Marc Lacroix, Brand &Project Manager at the French producer Cofrad Mannequins, remarked: “EuroShop 2011 was very positive for us. We met exactly the audience we were looking for. Many new contacts came from India, Brazil, and Mexico. We are looking forward to the follow-up business.”

The EuroCIS area focused on further developments related to mobile devices, both for units operated by the staff and for customers’ self-scanning solutions and Smart Phone applications. “EuroShop 2011 was a success for us — the trade fair’s focal themes ‘Mobility’ and ‘End-to-End Processes’ were right on target,” noted Hildegard Gerhardy, Brand & Business Development Manager Retail Store Solutions at IBM Deutschland. “Customers are becoming increasingly digitalized. They can and want to gather product information digitally before they enter a physical store. And retail needs to respond to this.”  First time exhibitor MTI from the United States was also very delighted with its participation: "I could not be more pleased with the results, and more impressed with the level of service at Messe Düsseldorf," noted Helen Stonhill, Director of Marketing.

The EuroExpo segment was proof of the sector’s high creativity and presented examples of outstanding stand construction. “People come to EuroShop. It is the meeting place for the industry,” summarized Elfie Adler, CEO of the FAMAB Association for Direct Business Communications. Hans Bruder, CEO at Octanorm, added: “For us this was the best EuroShop of all time. Customers were in high spirits, and the sector’s willingness to invest was equally high. EuroShop has confirmed its position as the global No. 1 once again.”

As part of the EuroShop ancillary program, the EuroShop Retail Design Conference was a special highlight with first-class architects and experts from world-renowned retail companies such as Brendan Sullivan from VF Corporation, Sharon A. Lessard from Supervalu, Ignaz Gorischek from Neiman Marcus, and Harald Fischer from Rewe Group as the speakers.