More visitors and exhibitors: “A very positive result” at Spoga+Gafa

Koelnmesse has deemed the outcome of Spoga+Gafa 2019, which came to a close on Tuesday 3 September, "a very positive result". The organisers reported an increase in visitors on all three days compared with the show days last year. Just over 40 000 trade visitors in all from 124 countries came to the world-leading garden and leisure show in Cologne. Foreign visitors accounted for 65 per cent of the total. The number of exhibitors also increased slightly, with 2 281 companies (2018: 2 152) from 67 countries presenting their goods and services on an exhibition area of 230 000 m². Of these, 86 per cent came from abroad.
Spoga+Gafa played out under one main topic for the first time. This year, the organisers chose "City Gardening - gardeners without gardens", which secured them a television reporting slot, among other things. Sustainability will be next year's theme.
Many exhibitors spoke of a strong presence of DIY store and garden retailers right from the start of the fair. John Herbert, general secretary of the European DIY Retail Association (EDRA), confirmed this impression from the retail perspective: "We received extremely positive feedback from our more than 200 top international buyers. In particular, the presence of strong brands like Fiskars but also the ambience of Spoga+Gafa as a whole were viewed favourably. The show has become even more attractive this year."
Spoga+Gafa 2020 will take place from 6 to 8 September.