Innovation leader in international retail

After five days, the EuroShop trade fair, which is held every three years in Düsseldorf, finally closed its doors in March. EuroShop is the world’s largest trade fair in the international retail sector. Wanzl presented itself as an innovation leader, and used its two trade fair stands, Self-Service Systems in Hall 13 and Shopfitting/Shop Solutions in Hall 12, to show what would shape the stores of tomorrow. The trade fair stand in Hall 13 was completely dominated by the philosophy “strong partnerships_made by Wanzl”. Here, Wanzl presented itself as a partner of international retailers with new ideas and solutions for the shopping experience. A particular highlight of the Self-Service Systems stand was the “smart shopping” project, a vision of shopping in the future. For “smart shopping”, Wanzl collaborated with the METRO GROUP to design a completely new shopping trolley, fitted with plastic baskets. Other highly topical innovations included the industry-specific self-service solutions for retail – from consumer markets and discounters to cash & carry stores, DIY stores and garden centres, as the trend in the retail sector is clearly moving towards higher quality and individualisation. Trade fair visitors also showed particular interest in the Wanzl Trolley Management service with its comprehensive service packages especially for shopping trolleys, such as cleaning and maintenance. Stores that use this range of Wanzl services are always able to offer their customers clean, hygienic, flawless shopping trolleys that work perfectly. The Self-Service Systems business area was also represented at the POPAI D-A-CH joint stand in Hall 05, where Wanzl, as a co-operation partner of the association, showcased effective display solutions for trade and industry.

Shopping experience

The second Wanzl trade fair stand Wanzl Shop Solutions was presented at EuroShop in Hall 12. Ten boxes with real shop areas, such as fruit and vegetables, wine, textiles, health & beauty, sport and outdoor as well as a virtual 3D shopping mall demonstrated the company’s expertise in the field of planning, project management and in the creation of turnkey shops. Natural materials and a “pure” and “simple” design idiom set the tone. The centrepiece of the stand, the café developed by Wanzl Shop Solutions, also proved extremely popular here. The concept developed by Wanzl’s shopfitters was also a hit with the judges at EuroShop: the Wanzl Shopfitting/Wanzl Shop Solutions trade fair stand scooped the International Shopfitting Organisation’s “Best Design Award”. Wanzl Shopfitting was also granted the Innovation Award by Germany’s leading architecture magazine AIT for its idea of implementing plans in 3D. This enables retailers to inspect the stores planned by Wanzl on the computer.

Retail industry on the up

At EuroShop, Wanzl showcased itself to the international guests from around 90 countries as a globally operating enterprise with subsidiaries and agencies in all the major markets of the world. The visitors were looked after at both stands by Wanzl representatives from the international distribution network. In-depth discussions were held in the comfort of Wanzl’s cafés and restaurant. Managing partner Gottfried Wanzl gave a very positive summary: “At EuroShop, we showed the market that Wanzl is one of the leading idea suppliers of the retail industry and boasts technical ingenuity, creativity and expertise in developing solutions. Both Wanzl trade fair stands proved extremely popular. The sentiment was very positive, you can feel that things are on the up again in retail.” Already during the trade fair, customers were placing new orders with Wanzl, and lively business is expected on the back of the trade fair.