Dr. Florian Hawranek, CEO, C. Kreul:
“The kind of people involved in creative activities is changing. I think the trend is now away from little pieces to be put together painstakingly and towards a more ‘modern, creative attitude to life’, a culture of ‘making things oneself’, as you find it portrayed on various platforms such as blogs. The public is getting younger too, younger women, students and plenty of men have all joined in. A lot follows from that and things are generally stable with an upward trend.
In our fast-moving times, it is important to continue marketing beyond the new product phase, otherwise a product comes out and, when it is then in the shops and is supposed to be sold, the manufacturers don’t do anything more to help with the marketing – we want to do things differently, we want to support trends for the long term and push them more.”
Kerstin Winkler, Marketing, Creative Colours Marabu:
“Creativeworld is very well attended and we have had very many international customers. Sunday in particular we had a lot of visitors. The mood in the sector is very good; our trends are being well received by the customers and the new products are getting well established.
We are focussing on four new products: acrylic paints for artists, a drawing range, chalk paints and, of course, the textile spray paint for dark fabrics. They are all getting a good reception and I can’t really say that there has been a favourite amongst them.”
Elisabeth Metiner, Head of Domestic Sales, Pebeo:
“The trade fair is very important, above all for Germany: we are a small team and don’t always have time to visit all our customers personally. But they all know that they can find us at Creativeworld and can talk to us in person here. Indeed, all we need to do is to come from Marseilles to Frankfurt, rather than travelling the whole world – that is a massive gain.
We are able to see the trends here and complete our range of products, because we can see what is in demand. We can also present new products, customers can try them out and it provides an opportunity and a spur to make a purchase. Orders are being placed, deadlines fixed - the interest is certainly there, the mood is good and we are building a good reputation. Our customers appreciate us and we are getting positive feedback and more orders; we are also managing to hold our ground against the big boys here. It is important for us to be seen. We want to show customers that we are in business and are able to maintain our position in the marketplace, not only in Europe, but on the world market.”
Stephan Rayher, Managing Director, Rayher Hobby GmbH:
“Creativeworld is our most important trade fair. Here we meet all our customers and see all the other companies, too. We are also here, of course, as a benchmarking exercise; we want to show our partners that we are the right partners for them. We are very pleased – lots of people in the aisles, lots of people on our stand; and it looks as though it is going to have been a very successful show. Creativeworld is a very international affair, with major customers from all over the world, as we are accustomed to.
Creative activities are still important, but the challenge continues to be the structural changes that are taking place – traditional retail is disappearing and, whilst we are getting good results, the sector as a whole has got to keep on moving forward, being innovative and reinventing itself.
We believe strongly in fabrics for the coming year; our focus is particularly on cork fabrics. Colour too is another important issue that will be with us throughout 2016.”
Ellen Jacoby, Creative Director, Rico Design:
“As every year, we are very happy to be in the big Hall 4.1. We are very satisfied and there are plenty of visitors. 4.2 is very well organised, it’s really lively in there with a lot going on, and that is all very positive. And it is a strikingly positive thing, too, that there are so many international participants amongst the exhibitors. For me, centrality is exactly the right way to go – because Paperworld is held at the same time. We benefit from that too. Creativeworld is our most important trade fair; more Americans have attended in the last few years and we are delighted to be able to meet more and more people here and welcome trade customers from all over the world.
The Trend Show is an absolute highlight – and for the visitors too. That, in itself, would be a good enough reason to visit the trade fair, because so much inspiration is on offer there. Creativity is very much on trend, but it doesn’t yet impact very widely; perhaps it is a bit like a cookery programme on TV – where people like to watch but don’t necessarily do it themselves.”
Birgit Wolter, PA to the Management, Schmincke:
“The quality of the visitors is very good, as it was last year. We deliver to over 50 countries and that is reflected, too, in our visitors, who come from all over the world and find their way to us here. It is all very international. As always, our focus is equally on our existing customers and on acquiring new ones. The general mood is good, too, and we have noticed that the Asian market is growing.
We present our standard products here and always have special promotions, too, that are generally well received. In our company, everything is about quality and that enables us to continue to win people over. This year we are also putting the spotlight on the college series, with which we also want to appeal to beginners.”
“The kind of people involved in creative activities is changing. I think the trend is now away from little pieces to be put together painstakingly and towards a more ‘modern, creative attitude to life’, a culture of ‘making things oneself’, as you find it portrayed on various platforms such as blogs. The public is getting younger too, younger women, students and plenty of men have all joined in. A lot follows from that and things are generally stable with an upward trend.
In our fast-moving times, it is important to continue marketing beyond the new product phase, otherwise a product comes out and, when it is then in the shops and is supposed to be sold, the manufacturers don’t do anything more to help with the marketing – we want to do things differently, we want to support trends for the long term and push them more.”
Kerstin Winkler, Marketing, Creative Colours Marabu:
“Creativeworld is very well attended and we have had very many international customers. Sunday in particular we had a lot of visitors. The mood in the sector is very good; our trends are being well received by the customers and the new products are getting well established.
We are focussing on four new products: acrylic paints for artists, a drawing range, chalk paints and, of course, the textile spray paint for dark fabrics. They are all getting a good reception and I can’t really say that there has been a favourite amongst them.”
Elisabeth Metiner, Head of Domestic Sales, Pebeo:
“The trade fair is very important, above all for Germany: we are a small team and don’t always have time to visit all our customers personally. But they all know that they can find us at Creativeworld and can talk to us in person here. Indeed, all we need to do is to come from Marseilles to Frankfurt, rather than travelling the whole world – that is a massive gain.
We are able to see the trends here and complete our range of products, because we can see what is in demand. We can also present new products, customers can try them out and it provides an opportunity and a spur to make a purchase. Orders are being placed, deadlines fixed - the interest is certainly there, the mood is good and we are building a good reputation. Our customers appreciate us and we are getting positive feedback and more orders; we are also managing to hold our ground against the big boys here. It is important for us to be seen. We want to show customers that we are in business and are able to maintain our position in the marketplace, not only in Europe, but on the world market.”
Stephan Rayher, Managing Director, Rayher Hobby GmbH:
“Creativeworld is our most important trade fair. Here we meet all our customers and see all the other companies, too. We are also here, of course, as a benchmarking exercise; we want to show our partners that we are the right partners for them. We are very pleased – lots of people in the aisles, lots of people on our stand; and it looks as though it is going to have been a very successful show. Creativeworld is a very international affair, with major customers from all over the world, as we are accustomed to.
Creative activities are still important, but the challenge continues to be the structural changes that are taking place – traditional retail is disappearing and, whilst we are getting good results, the sector as a whole has got to keep on moving forward, being innovative and reinventing itself.
We believe strongly in fabrics for the coming year; our focus is particularly on cork fabrics. Colour too is another important issue that will be with us throughout 2016.”
Ellen Jacoby, Creative Director, Rico Design:
“As every year, we are very happy to be in the big Hall 4.1. We are very satisfied and there are plenty of visitors. 4.2 is very well organised, it’s really lively in there with a lot going on, and that is all very positive. And it is a strikingly positive thing, too, that there are so many international participants amongst the exhibitors. For me, centrality is exactly the right way to go – because Paperworld is held at the same time. We benefit from that too. Creativeworld is our most important trade fair; more Americans have attended in the last few years and we are delighted to be able to meet more and more people here and welcome trade customers from all over the world.
The Trend Show is an absolute highlight – and for the visitors too. That, in itself, would be a good enough reason to visit the trade fair, because so much inspiration is on offer there. Creativity is very much on trend, but it doesn’t yet impact very widely; perhaps it is a bit like a cookery programme on TV – where people like to watch but don’t necessarily do it themselves.”
Birgit Wolter, PA to the Management, Schmincke:
“The quality of the visitors is very good, as it was last year. We deliver to over 50 countries and that is reflected, too, in our visitors, who come from all over the world and find their way to us here. It is all very international. As always, our focus is equally on our existing customers and on acquiring new ones. The general mood is good, too, and we have noticed that the Asian market is growing.
We present our standard products here and always have special promotions, too, that are generally well received. In our company, everything is about quality and that enables us to continue to win people over. This year we are also putting the spotlight on the college series, with which we also want to appeal to beginners.”
