On the occasion of IPM ESSEN 2018, hortivation started in Fair Hall 13. In the POS experience world for the green sector, the specialised trade will, next year too, find the latest trends, the newest sales concepts and practical recommendations for action about how the sales of flowers and plants can be consolidated. Then, however, no longer under the ‘hortivation by IPM ESSEN’ name but instead under the ‘IPM Discovery Centre’ title. The cooperation with the Dutch green stylist and trend watcher Romeo Sommers will be continued.
After the first event in Kalkar in 2016, the fair management had already decided in favour of docking hortivation on to IPM ESSEN. The decisive factor was the unanimous tenor in the sector: Not only would all the market leaders and decision takers be represented at the world’s leading fair which would score points due to its high internationality but precisely the proximity between production and trading would also result in new chances for the horticultural industry.
In 2018, hortivation was then successfully staged as a part of IPM ESSEN for the first time.
„The original concept of showing whole strong-selling shop situations and not individual products has proven its worth and will be continued. The new naming is an expression of the attachment to the world’s leading fair, IPM ESSEN. ‘Discovery’ stands not only for discovery but also for recognition. Visitors will become pioneers in their own sector and will learn new things about trends as well as about customers’ purchasing behaviour and needs. At the same time, the objective was to emphasise that this will be a concrete place where the trade visitor will find all that prepared in a compact and comprehensible form. The ‘IPM Discovery Centre’ name and the associated ‘Explore Your Industry!’ slogan circumscribe the idea in a very appropriate way,” according to Oliver P. Kuhrt.
Attention-grabbing
“The IPM Discovery Centre will give the green sector an attention-grabbing stage and will be understood as a pioneering trend show for the entire industry. Here, not only garden centre operators but also breeders and traders will find out how they can reach their customers in an even better way. The green sector has a common objective: to consolidate the sales of green products. On the exhibitor side, the IPM Discovery Centre will bring together all the participants along the entire value added chain: from producers of living green products via manufacturers of hardware and garden accessories right up to suppliers of horticultural engineering whose technologies are just as relevant to the end consumer. However, other sectors from which we can learn will always be welcome too. We would like to pass on the idea that this will only work as a community. We will give this community a home with the IPM Discovery Centre. I am very pleased that I will be allowed to be active as the Creative Director again,” commented Romeo Sommers.
Exhibitors Become Heroes
Romeo Sommers will act as the creative curator of the IPM Discovery Centre. The green stylist and trend watcher will incorporate the products of the participating exhibitors into POS concepts. All the people taking part in the trend show will become heroes in their sector and will receive special identification.
“We would like to show particular esteem to the participating exhibitors by providing them with the ‘IPM Discovery Centre Hero’ label. They will stand out from the masses in this way. Ultimately, nothing else matters at the POS: Anybody who stands out will gain more attention,” continued Sommers.
