Gift Focus - Jan/Feb 2020 (Issue 117)

74 Finding the one in Frankfurt Gift giving at Ambiente 2020 couldn’t be easier with all giving sectors covered Which gift ideas touch the spirit of our age in a time of digitisation and urbanisation? Ambiente 2020 provides answers to the Giving Trends of the future, ranging from stationery, technical gadgets and office items through to personal and home accessories to jewellery. With around 800 exhibitors and the highest proportion of cross-industry products, the Giving sector is one of the most diversified product areas at the fair. This diversity has major benefits for the industry, as German spendings on gifts rose to around EUR 472 per person in 2018 (according to the German Retail Association HDE). At the same time, today’s end customers and lifestyles are more individualistic than ever before. “Ambiente showcases the latest trends in the world of consumer goods. Particularly in giving, a product area that covers many different sectors, it’s vital to have a clear product policy. “Moreover, it must have a broad base with a large number of target groups and it needs to be efficiently organised. In 2019 we successfully adapted the concept store trend for this product area and divided gift brands into two: Urban Gifts and Gift Ideas. Thus, retailers could be even more focused in their search for innovative products, strategically selecting supplementary products that perfectly matched their corporate identity,” says Yvonne Engelmann, head of Living and Giving. Whatever a person’s lifestyle, occasion or budget, Ambiente 2020 has answers to lifestyle-focused retailers wanting to explore future Giving trends across all industries. Following the successful restructuring of this area, Ambiente will once again divide Giving into two different stylistic areas in 2020: Urban Gifts and Gift Ideas. In addition, Global Sourcing in Hall 9.3 will feature a wide range of exhibitors from all over the world, all with experience in export. Global Sourcing will therefore be an ideal platform for the conclusion of high-volume business deals. Hall 11.0: Urban Gifts for every lifestyle The Urban Gifts hall (Hall 11.0) is both trend and design-focused, fulfilling dreams both big and small. Some consumers prefer gifts made from high-quality materials, while some prefer a functional design, and others want to know the story behind the product and the size of its ecological footprint. There’s a tendency to be more cautious in one’s buying decisions, and an increasing number of people now see consumerism as a question of personal attitude. This makes giving all the more exciting, and Ambiente has become a can’t-miss event for gift retailers wanting to boost people’s love of giving, whether they own concept stores or run lifestyle, décor or accessory stores or indeed traditional gift shops. Hall 11.0 will feature a range of new exhibitors wanting to make the most of this potential by exploring its many facets. Take, for instance, Legendär, which has a new collection that involves the use of unusual, high-quality materials. The HYDE document folder is made from the finest saddle leather, vegetable-tanned in artisan tradition. Another new exhibitor, Forrest & Love, has produced an on-the-go drinks bottle made from pure copper. This precious metal is exactly the right choice for anyone who loves high-quality materials. But there will also be innovative products from established exhibitors such as Räder or the Oreflector reflective badge from the Lithuanian company MARCH – perfect products for today’s increasingly urban environments. Räder’s foldable spectacle case Guck Guck is a real space saver for increasingly smaller housing units where storage space is getting to be a luxury. And the Oreflector badge from the Lithuanian company MARCH shines in the dark, enabling night-time cyclists to get home safely through the streets of any big city. On the other hand, Volker Lang’s high- quality leather bags combine a touch of purism with playfulness. Ambiente 2020 will see the return of Familie von Quast, Pleased to Meet, No Gallery and the Finnish manufacturer of wooden decorative figures Lovi. IN BRIEF Show Ambiente Organiser Messe Frankfurt Where Messe Frankfurt, Germany When 7 th -11 th February, 2020 Website ambiente.messe frankfurt.com Twitter @ambiente