'Greatest show on earth' gets mixed reviews; Heimtextil a business success, but uninspiring - Heimtextil, textile industry trade show - HomeMarket Trends: Special Supplement - Cover Story

Discount Store News, March 4, 1991

`Greatest Show on Earth' Gets Mixed Reviews; Heimtextil a Business Success, but Uninspring

Exhibitors reported unprecedented interest in American-made products. `We wrote more business than ever before,' a vendor said

American visitors returned from Heimtextil, the world's largest textiles trade show, with mixed feelings.

On one hand, exhibitors reported unprecedented interest in American-made products. "We wrote more business than we ever did before," one vendor said, speaking for the majority. Another added, "We had more success this year without a booth than we did in the past with a booth."

At the same time, most attendees (particularly retailers) termed the show "uninspired" and "lacking in innovation." Dundee's David Taylor suggested that Germany, as a whole, is so wrapped up in reunification that everything else has taken a back seat. "They were clearly coasting," he said.

Others mentioned the then-approaching Gulf War deadline, near-chaos in Eastern Europe, worldwide recession and other factors as contributing to the design and product malaise. But, one attendee may have come closest when he said that "after several terrific years, Heimtex was due for a slump."

"What characterized Heimtex this year was its singular lack of trends or direction," said David Van Buskirk, Burlington/Klopman Interior Fabrics' director of style. The silver lining, he added, is that with instantaneous communication of what trends there are, designers and marketers will be forced more than ever before to truly understand their specific markets.

"In a world that promises to become ever more diverse, offering an almost endless variety of products and designs, there are no longer going to be easy answers. It will become increasingly important for the designer/marketer to know intimately his own market and draw from the world what he thinks is best applicable to his product. Market knowledge and personal conviction will count for everything."

Of course, the lack of trends and innovations is strictly a relative thing. Heimtex in the past has offered such a cornucopia of influences, new ideas and new applications that the letdown of a so-so show can be dramatic.

As Ed McNamee, newly named president of Georgia Tufted Sales, pointed out, "the sheer spectacle takes you aback. While there weren't a lot of trends as such, we did see a lot of bright colors and Indian looks. I don't think they'll translate well to the U.S. market, though, partly because of the Gulf situation."

McNamee added that there was a lot of excitement in the bath rug area. "There were a lot of good looks, but most of them were yarn-dyed and would cost too much for our market. There were groupings from Portugal, for instance, that were really great, but they'd cost $80 apiece here."

Like most other manufacturers, McNamee reported an aggressive market for American-made goods. "We found a distributor who will cover France for us, and maybe later, the whole of the EEC," he said. "Our business as a whole has held steady, but mainly because of a few top accounts. But we've just added 45,000 square feet to our shipping facilities, and we're looking ahead to a strong year."

Frank Preston, vice president of Louisville Bedding, noted that while nothing stood out in the show, "there were some truly great fabrics there. Most of them were short-run and very expensive, but they offered good ideas for fabric people to translate to the mass market."

The color trend, he said, was clear, but not particularly inspiring. "Purple and plum shades were very strong, but much too heavy," he said. "It wasn't so much a trend as a bandwagon, and everybody was on it."

However, he termed the show a success. "We did very well in chair pads and matching placemats," he said. "We had a lot of interest from companies from around the world; the U.K., Greece, Austria and Germany. And we saw a lot in European decorative pillows that could be adapted to our market."

David Hollowell, director of marketing, Beacon Manufacturing, had a similar experience. "Colorwise, there was a lot more purple and green than we thought was legit," he said. "We're going to try green again, but if it continues to sell as poorly as it has in the past, this might be the last time."

Hollowell saw "interesting new weaves in cottons," but was dismayed at "the absolute lack of emphasis on the environment. There was no attention to recycling, no looks based on an environmental theme, not even any particular interest in natural fibers and so on. That's rather shocking considering that Germany is the home of the Green movement."

Like other attendees, Hollowell was pleased with the business end of Heimtex. "We got some nibbles," he said. "There was a lot of interest in our cotton thermals."

A large amount of that interest, he said, was prompted by the attractive prices American producers can quote for quality goods. "One buyer was shocked when we quoted him our prices," Hollowell said.

Kmart's director of home market trends, Wendy Wark, was "overall, not too impressed" with Heimtex.