Salone del Mobile with strong growth in visitor numbers

With an increase of 17.1% compared to last year, the Salone del Mobile 2024 has reached a record number of 361,417 visitors. The proportion of trade visitors rose to 26.8%, of which 65.8% came from abroad. These figures underline the importance of the event in the international furnishing industry. A total of 1,950 exhibitors from 35 countries took part in the fair.

Hey-Sign: Change in the management board

Katharina Günther, Managing Director at Hey-Sign for five years, will step down from this position at the end of April 2024. She will be succeeded by Markus Bader on 1 May. He joined Hey-Sign in 2019 as Business Development Manager and was most recently responsible for sales and marketing. In addition to Bader, Franz Endres and Florian Fetzer are members of the Management Board.

Südbund launches online magazine for end consumers

The living magazine is the name of the new online magazine with which the German purchasing association for interior decoration Südbund is now providing end consumers who are interested in living and interior decoration with inspiration. It replaces the previous printed magazine "Wohnen & mehr" and opens up new opportunities in digital format to generate and retain customers for Südbund speciality shops. It is updated four times a year with new content, seasonal focal points and lifestyle topics. The association also offers its customers and members the opportunity to customise the online magazine to suit the specific offerings of their specialist shop.

Rugvista Group reports record sales in the fourth quarter of 2023

Rugvista Group AB has published its annual report for the 2023 financial year. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the company reported net sales of SEK 233.3 million (EUR 20.1 million), an increase of 14.3%. Profit for the period totalled SEK 24.3 million. For the full year 2023, Rugvista achieved net sales of SEK 702.2 M (EUR 60.5 M), an increase of 9.8% (-9.3%). Organic net sales growth was 2.8% and profit for the period totalled SEK 70.0 M.

Domotex Middle East will take place as planned

In view of the current flooding in Dubai, Deutsche Messe would like to emphasise that Domotex Middle East will take place as planned. Preparations are in full swing. According to the organisers, it is safe to travel to and stay in Dubai. The trade fair for rugs and floor coverings will therefore open its doors at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 23 to 25 April 2024.

IMM Cologne: New Concepts for 2025

Preparations for the next IMM Cologne, which will take place from 12 to 16 January 2025, are already in full swing. According to Koelnmesse, the aim is to offer an even more attractive and effective trade fair experience by further developing proven formats that inspire and encourage exhibitors and trade visitors alike. In 2025, new hall concepts in the Pure, Home and Sleep segments will offer surprising trade fair experiences.

SN-Verlag Hamburg: Norman Virks completes the management team

The management of SN-Verlag Hamburg, the publishing house behind Carpet Home, is setting the course for the tasks of the future and is getting younger: in addition to publisher Michael Steinert and his son Tim Steinert, a third managing director, Norman Virks, has joined the company on 1 April. He is known in the flooring industry as the long-standing head of the marketing cooperation of Joka Fachberater with wholesaler Jordan - a position Virks has held since 2013. The 42-year-old was born in Kassel and has a degree in economics. In his new position as co-managing director of SN-Verlag, Virks intends to focus on issues such as digitalisation and the company's trade fair activities - SN-Verlag will be organising the Hometex trade fair in Bad Salzuflen (formerly ABK Open).

Westwing: Market share gained, 2023 sales almost at previous year's level

Westwing closed 2023 with a positive fourth quarter and generated sales of EUR 429 million, only slightly below the previous year's level (EUR 431 million). Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, the e-commerce company was able to gain market share. Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 18 million. For 2024, Westwing forecasts revenues of between EUR 415 million and EUR 445 million.

Medipa / Merinos: Warehouse capacity in Germany to be expanded

Machine woven carpet supplier Medipa / Merinos continues to grow and announces the planned expansion of warehouse capacity at its German site in Troisdorf. The expansion is in response to increasing demand and will ensure that the company can continue to meet the needs of its customers.

Steinhoff: Jooste fined millions and deceased

According to reports from NDR and Handelsblatt, former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste has been fined 475 million rands (the equivalent of around €23 million) for falsifying accounts and misleading others in connection with the 2017 accounting scandal. Almost simultaneously, it was reported that Jooste had been pronounced dead by the South African police after being admitted to hospital on 21 March.