In a new announcement, the German trade fair organiser, Messe Frankfurt, has said that it will not hold any of its own physical trade fairs at the Frankfurt exhibition grounds from January to March 2021, thus, declaring new dates for Heimtextil and Ambiente, among others.

Heimtextil 2021 has been moved from January to May 4-7, 202, 2021 and will take place alongside Techtextil and Texprocess, whilst Ambiente will take place from April 17-20 alongside Christmasworld and Paperworld, as the International Consumer Goods Show – Special Edition.

Wolfgang Marzin, President and CEO of Messe Frankfurt, said, “It is important for our customers that we make a decision at an early date, as it would otherwise be time for them to begin investing in their trade fair presentations. Messe Frankfurt will continue working closely with its customers to ensure that its decisions serve the interests of the exhibiting industries.”

“Much of the international home and contract textiles industry has made it clear that they want Heimtextil 2021 to take place. Many companies are looking to their trade fair presentations to help boost sales following the resumption of business, and we feel that it is more important now than ever that we satisfy this demand, " added Detlef Braun, a member of Messe Frankfurt's executive board.

He further opined, “However, the travel restrictions that have now been put in place and a renewed rise in the number of infections simply pose too great a hurdle for our very-international event. We are working closely with our exhibitors and the relevant authorities and doing everything we can to ensure that we are able to hold a safe and successful Heimtextil 2021.”

In addition, Ambiente will take place alongside Christmasworld and Paperworld, as the International Consumer Goods Show – Special Edition, from from April 17-20, 2021.

The physical event will be actively supplemented with digital offerings as part of Consumer Goods Digital Days, which will also be home to the purely digital Creativeworld, an event that is taking a one-year hiatus as a physical meeting place in 2021.

Messe Frankfurt also plans to extend its digital B2B marketplace, Nextrade, to Heimtextil's customers, enabling orders to be placed all year round.