The international furniture fair 'imm Cologne 2020' will be held in Cologne, Germany, from January 13 to 19 next year. Held every January, imm Cologne is regarded as an event that offers an early glimpse of the year's furniture trends. It is one of the world's largest furniture fairs, drawing 150,000 visitors from around the globe and welcoming 1,250 exhibiting companies.
At imm Cologne 2020, the exhibition segments that were previously divided into Sleep, Comfort, Global Lifestyles and others will be consolidated under the theme of 'Home.' As a result, beginning in 2020 imm Cologne plans to organize its exhibits into the Home segment and the 'Pure' segment, which covers a wide range of avant-garde interior design. The newly introduced Home segment is in turn made up of three sub-segments: Home Sleep, dealing with the bedroom; Home Scenes, dealing with lifestyle; and Home Settings, dealing with young and stylish furnishing solutions.
As digitalization advances rapidly within the furniture industry as well, imm Cologne aims not to leave the responsibility for digital innovation solely to companies, but rather to stay a step ahead by offering, through a variety of formats, opportunities to read new markets. The special 'Smart Village' exhibition at imm Cologne 2020 will visually present comprehensive smart solutions applicable to the furniture sector through installation stages that bring to life four concepts, including the smart home and smart residence. At the 'imm Cologne Congress,' which addresses furniture-market trends, participants will take a detailed look at examples of digital technologies such as e-commerce, digital marketing and virtual reality being utilized in the furniture industry.
In addition, imm Cologne 2020 will host 'DesignFest,' a trend show for the younger generation, for the first time. DesignFest is co-hosted by 'blickfang,' a renowned German design fair organizer, and 'Gruner&Jahr,' one of Europe's largest publishers, and is an event where visitors can encounter some 200 hot young brands in the German interior market. Running only from the 17th to the 19th, DesignFest was conceived to reflect design phenomena popular among the younger generation, and it will subsequently be held in Berlin and Stuttgart in April. The 'Pure Talents Contest,' held annually at imm Cologne, is likewise a contest for young designers, offering winners prize money along with support for bringing their work to market.
From Korea, Chairmeister and METTE are known to be participating so far. Chairmeister, a company specializing in chairs, is a global 'hidden champion' exporting chairs to some 40 countries. Making its first appearance at imm Cologne, Chairmeister has consistently taken part in world-class furniture fairs such as interzum and ORGATEC, expanding its foundation for overseas exports with products underpinned by its technological capabilities. METTE, a premium furniture brand, will present a collection created through collaboration with global designers. Comprising sofas, chairs, lighting and more, the collection is praised for establishing its own distinctive identity through an androgyny concept that emphasizes neutrality. It is expected to draw a favorable response at imm Cologne as well, thanks to its signature sense of luxury.