A beacon in a tense market environment: On March 13, 2025, the 38th International Trade Fair for Retail Promotions and Imports came to an end in Cologne. The trade fair was characterized by attractive offers from a wide range of industries, a high number of visitors and high-quality customer contacts. On its 20th anniversary, the IAW trade fair was once again able to assert itself as a leading bridge builder for international trade. A total of 280 exhibitors from 21 countries and 5,200 visitors took part in the trade fair. “Overall, we are satisfied with how the trade fair went. I think we were once again able to demonstrate the importance of the IAW trade fair in these difficult economic times. Unfortunately, the unpredictable conditions with strikes at the airports and in local public transport did not make it easy for us,” concludes project manager Kerstin Manke.

For the exhibitors, the anniversary trade fair was characterized by well-filled order books and promising business contacts. “The trade fair is going very well for us. The right people are here and it’s a great atmosphere,” says Juliette Osseweijer, Assistant Sales Director at Topbrands GmbH. The exhibitors particularly emphasized the purchasing power of the customers: “We had more sales than at the last trade fairs and many high-quality contacts,” reports Jérémy Le Perrot, B2B Sales Manager at 4everyware. Rüdiger Grommes, Managing Director of HATEX AS GmbH & Co KG, agrees with this assessment: “We are very satisfied with the order situation we have written.”

The IAW trade fair used its 20th anniversary to reward the loyalty of its long-standing exhibitors. With the presentation of the Loyalty Awards on the first day of the trade fair, the IAW honored those exhibitors who have been presenting their product range at the IAW for at least 30 trade fairs. L&K BrandTrading GmbH has also been there since the first trade fair in 2005 and is therefore among the award winners. “The award feels very good for us. It’s nice to receive the recognition. We keep coming back to the trade fair because it’s always an opportunity for us to network and exchange ideas with market players and competitors,” says Justus von Siebert, Director Sales & HR at L&K BrandTrading. Tjitse Lawerman, co-owner of Kooistra.com BV, shares the joy of the award: “The award was a surprise for us. It’s nice to see something like this being done,” he says.

More than 50 first-time exhibitors took advantage of the international appeal of the 38th IAW trade fair to present themselves to a business-minded audience. “The trade fair allows us to open a massive door to the world and present our face,” explains Nicolo Palumbo, salesman at Consorzio Italia, when asked about the reasons for their participation. “We were able to make a lot of good contacts, we weren’t known in the industry before,” he reports. Natacha Pascaud, employee of first-time exhibitor Chloelina, shares the positive assessment: “The trade fair is going very well for us, we have met many buyers and customers.” She sees the IAW trade fair in particular as an opportunity to build trust with potential customers and present herself as a serious company. And Karl-Heinz van Boxstael, Sales Manager at The Cookware Company, says: “The first day went particularly well for us. We got a good impression and will definitely be back.”

Another highlight of the 38th IAW trade fair was once again the E-Commerce Arena, which is already celebrating its 20th edition – in keeping with the 20th anniversary of the IAW. The E-Commerce Arena is always filled with high-quality speakers who share their many years of experience in e-commerce with the audience. Stefan Grimm is Managing Director of GKS Handelssysteme GmbH and has organized the E-Commerce Arena from the very beginning. He reports: “This time, we have placed a lot of emphasis on very practical tips – hands-on in e-commerce.” The subject areas were expanded and topics such as customs duties and trademark law were also included in the portfolio. Stefan Grimm emphasizes that a retail company can only maintain its turnover if it sells via online channels. The e-commerce arena helps with this: “In the end, it’s always about practical application: What can I do to directly improve tomorrow?” says the organizer. For example, Sebastian Herz, founder of Zignify Global Product Soucing, talked about “These are the real hacks to make even grandma order your goods on Amazon” and Mohamad Al-Hakim, founder of SEO-Pictures, presented AI tricks to revolutionize product photography.

Attractive offers, intensive trade relations and valuable presentations: On its 20th anniversary, the IAW trade fair has once again presented itself as an important hub and turning point for international trade. Despite a politically tense situation and a general reluctance to buy, the IAW trade fair successfully provided a platform for high-quality contacts and lucrative business and offered exhibitors and visitors alike an exciting experience.

Additional impetus was provided by Asia-Pacific Sourcing, which took place at the same time in Halls 7 and 8. As in previous years, the parallelism of the two trade fairs ensured positive synergy effects. While trade visitors benefited from the expanded range of DIY products, construction and home improvement supplies, as well as garden products, exhibitors were delighted with the additional visitor numbers.

The next IAW trade fair will take place from September 2 to 4, 2025 in Halls 6 and 9 at Koelnmesse.

Building bridges in retail for 20 years: Successful conclusion of the 38th IAW trade fair (PDF)