{"id":30483,"date":"2025-09-05T14:36:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/?p=30483"},"modified":"2025-09-05T14:52:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:52:51","slug":"great-deals-and-positive-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/great-deals-and-positive-results\/","title":{"rendered":"The 39th IAW trade fair closes with great deals and positive results"},"content":{"rendered":"

When unlimited product diversity meets attractive prices, a trade fair becomes a real source of added value. From 2 to 4 September 2025, the 39th International Trade Fair for Retail <\/span>Promotions and Imports (IAW) once again positioned itself as a powerful driving force in <\/span>global retailing.In Cologne\u2018s exhibition halls, 4,730 trade visitors from around 70 nations met <\/span>260 exhibitors from 23 countries and created a trade show full of interaction, knowledge <\/span>transfer and tremendous deals across 30,000 m\u00b2 of exhibition space.<\/span><\/p>\n

After three eventful days at the fair, Project Manager Kerstin Manke comes to a positive conclusion: \u201cIn spite of the difficult market situation, the IAW has once again demonstrated <\/span>that it is possible to do solid business and benefit from mutual interaction. We are highly <\/span>satisfied and optimistic that we will be able to build on this positive situation at the 40th <\/span>edition in March 2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For exhibitors, the IAW trade show is always a gateway to new customers and well-filled order books. \u201eThe fair was once again very successful. We\u2019ve been coming here for over <\/span>ten years now, and have met many new dealers as well as existing customers. Our sales <\/span>figures go up every year,\u201c reports Michael Rowland, Senior International Account Manager <\/span>at Pricecheck Brand Partners BV. Justus von Siebert, Director of Sales & HR at L&K Brand <\/span>Trading GmbH, shares this assessment: \u201cThe IAW was highly successful for us. We did good <\/span>business and had lots of discussions with customers.\u201d He reports strong sales and visitors <\/span>from a wide range of countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

In view of restrained consumer spending around the world, the positive feedback from exhibitors is by no means to be taken for granted. \u201cUnfortunately, the general trend is not <\/span>positive. The entire supply chain is functioning, but consumers also need to be in the mood <\/span>to make purchases,\u201d reports Lukasz Sagan, Directing Manager at Bahama Warenvertriebs <\/span>GmbH. Exhibitors see the IAW as an important platform for maintaining relationships with <\/span>their business associates, and for face-to-face interaction during these challenging times.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are only a few trade fairs in this sector. The IAW is like a big family which also promotes our industry. It\u2019s the place to be, you simply have to take part,\u201d says Lukasz Sagan, <\/span>emphasizing the valuable international mix of visitors, ranging from small retailers to major <\/span>buyers from well-known retail chains. Markus Schier, owner of Rappelkiste Spielwaren, <\/span>appeals to a mutual sense of responsibility: \u201cAs an exhibitor, you have to do your part to <\/span>ensure that visitors will come. You have to show your appreciation for everyone who travels <\/span>to Cologne. The IAW is very important because it is so international.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A breath of fresh air was brought to the trade show by 48 newcomers, who were able to take advantage of the global appeal of the IAW fair as first-time exhibitors. The new exhibitors <\/span>emphasize the importance of making contact with new customers and the variety that <\/span>characterizes the fair: \u201cAt the IAW, it\u2018s the diversity that matters. There\u2019s a wide range of <\/span>products \u2013 from coffee and chocolate to garden products \u2013 and all at good prices,\u201d reports <\/span>Alexandra Toth, Assistant Manager at Simon Handels GmbH. First-time exhibitor Whatnot <\/span>Europe Ltd., which offers B2C retailers a live streaming platform for online selling, is also <\/span>positive: \u201cWe\u2019re very excited about the large number of visitors we received. The IAW is THE <\/span>trade fair in Europe when it comes to meeting new suppliers and buyers,\u201d says Joohee Kim, <\/span>Category Manager at Whatnot, summarizing the results of the fair.<\/span><\/p>\n

An attractive addition to the trade fair program was the 21st edition of the E-Commerce Arena, organized by RESTPOSTEN.de and MiToU GmbH. With its presentations and panel <\/span>discussions, the two-day program provided e-commerce retailers with important insights <\/span>into tips, tricks, and trends in online retailing, which is constantly growing in popularity and <\/span>sales. Co-organizer and moderator Michael Frontzek, Managing Director of MiToU GmbH, <\/span>refers to artificial intelligence as the content driver of the program, supplemented by topics <\/span>such as Google Ads, product photography, legal aspects and taxes. \u201cThe E-Commerce Arena <\/span>delivers a wealth of practical knowledge. The content consists of best practice examples, <\/span>and enables everyone to engage in an exchange of ideas.\u201d The Arena is designed to enable <\/span>retailers to build and scale their online presence in the best possible way.<\/span><\/p>\n

From lucrative contracts via invaluable presentations to promising contacts, the 39th IAW trade fair successfully cemented its reputation as a tried-and-tested hub in the world of <\/span>international retail. The 40th anniversary edition of the IAW will take place from 24-26 <\/span>March 2026, and once again promises a wide range of products, top prices and lots of new <\/span>contacts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Download Press release (PDF)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":30364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-presseberichte-englisch"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30483"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30485,"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30483\/revisions\/30485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iaw-messe.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}