GARDEN Trader (SPRING 2019)

from 61 countries (foreign share: 85 percent) presented the trends and highlights for the coming garden season on 230,000 square metres of space. In addition to the increased numbers, spoga+gafa 2018 also convinced through the enormous quality of the trade visitors. "All of the members were very pleased with spoga+gafa and our expectations were exceeded. spoga+gafa is more international than ever. More members from the association took part in this year's event from all over the world. For instance, we had a company from Japan that travelled to the fair for the first time ever for two days. We support several trade fairs, but this is without doubt one of the best with regards to innovations and trends in the lifestyle and furniture section for example. Overall, I can say that the quality of the visitors, the diversity of the products as well as the organisation of the event were excellent," confirmed John W. Herbert, European DIY-Retail Association (EDRA) /General Secretary. Particularly the buyers from smaller specialised stores and garden centres contributed towards a record Sunday, whereas the decision-makers from the large-scale retail outlets principally visited the trade fair on the Monday and Tuesday. The quality of the trade visitors was also noticeable from the outcome of the independent visitor survey. In total, 68 percent of the visitors interviewed stated that they are involved in procurement decisions in their companies, 39 percent are even decisive in the decision-making process. Even more depth in the themes - even more satisfaction spoga+gafa presented the entire world of the garden in Halls 1 to 10 and additionally opened the outdoor areas between Halls 6 and 7 and between Halls 7 and 8 for the exhibitors from the garden bbq segment. The diversity of the exhibitors' offers was enhanced by TRADE SHOW REVIEW w w w . I M B 2 B . c o m 97