On tap in Cologne: education
The organizers of the Internationale Eisenwarenmesse -- the International Hardware Fair coming to Cologne, Germany March 6-8 -- promise to deliver a daily schedule of education and interaction.
"We have further developed Eisenwarenmesse - International Hardware Fair 2016 in order to accommodate the industry's needs and trends more efficiently," explained Katharina C. Hamma, COO of Koelnmesse GmbH. "The number of registrations proves that we are on the right track. Our trade visitors can once again look forward to an excellent range of high-quality offers as well as a supply of information that deals with the hot themes of the industry."
Around 2,700 exhibitors from over 50 countries will be exhibiting.
One of the new features of the wide-ranging international event will be an E-Commerce arena in Passage 4/5, where online suppliers such as nexmart, mercateo, PROCATO and Toolineo will be present with their own trade fair participations.
The area will receive special attention and even more space on Sunday, when the E-Commerce Theme Day will be staged featuring its own lecture program on the stage next to the E-Commerce arena sponsored by SSI Schäfer. Here, everything will revolve around the opportunities and risks of E-Commerce as well as the company presentations of the online suppliers. As a further trade fair highlight, the results of the brief study "B2B marketplaces 2016 - what it really comes down to," which Koelnmesse jointly carried out with the IFH Cologne, will be exclusively presented to the trade visitors.
For visitors from Canada, Mexico and the United States, a reception in the North American Pavilion is set for Monday night in Hall 4.2.
Also on Monday, the German Association of the DIY, Building and Garden Specialist Stores (BHB) is welcoming decision-makers from the trade, industry and service sector to the BHB Forum 2016 at the Theater am Tanzbrunnen. Here, the BHB Customer Service Prize will be presented to companies from the DIY industry that stand out by rendering special services in the customer service sector. The award is conferred in the three categories "Product and Process Innovation," "Solution-oriented communications at the Point of Sale" and "Strategic overall marketing".
On Tuesday, the Matchmaking Programme Buying Day of the Presidents Council offers exclusive discussions with potential and international buyers.
The trade fair takes place every other year in the massive Koelnmesse convention facility in Cologne.