Formex is celebrating 60 years as the Nordic region’s largest meeting place for interior design with an up-to-the-minute inspirational exhibition – created by the international Carlin Creative Trend Bureau

At Formex on January 14–17, 2020 the focus will be on the challenges faced by retailers when the international trend and content agency Carlin takes over Stockholmsmässan’s Entrance Hall with their Retail Hub exhibition. The aim is to both inspire and offer new insights to exhibitors and visitors by highlighting the latest themes in retail, such as sustainability, the growth of e-commerce and the interior design industry’s need to restructure in response. Formex will also be launching its celebration of 60 years as the Nordic region’s largest meeting place for interior design.

Carlin was the world’s first trend agency that was founded to provide the fashion and textile industry with trend intelligence, and it currently has a presence in 25 countries. The Retail Hub exhibition, which they have created for Formex, considers subjects such as the relationship between physical and digital retail, a hot topic for the event’s visitors and exhibitors.The exhibition will be set up in Stockholmsmässan’s Entrance Hall as a place where people, objects and ideas can come together. For the first time in Formex’s history, there will also be a store in the Entrance Hall – POPIN@RETAILHUB.

-We are proud to have been invited by Formex to participate at this significant platform for Nordic interior design. Sweden is one of the world’s leading countries when it comes to early adoption of new consumer behaviors, sustainability and craftsmanship and we hope we can contribute an international perspective and learn more together, says Carlin trend analyst Ambre Venissac.

Formex responds to changing buying habits
-Formex was founded in 1960, at a time when retailers bought in goods once a year and the end consumer shopped via bricks-and-mortar stores. As buying habits have changed, both for retailers and us as private individuals, Formex has also developed. In 2020, we will be celebrating our 60th year as the Nordic region’s leading meeting place for the design industry by overhauling the exhibition in order to continue creating value for both exhibitors and visitors over time, states Christina Olsson, Project Area Manager for Formex.

Formex’s big 60th anniversary will take place in August 2020, but the celebrations will kick off early with an exhibition in January on dressing the dining table through the ages, curated by interior stylist Cecilia Tivar. Formex has also chosen not to follow the tradition of a theme that changes from year to year, and instead return to the exhibition’s roots and its core values, which can be summed up as ‘love of design and objects’. 

-That’s what Formex is all about: love of design and beautiful things. And of course that can encompass a wide range of different values. Today, for example, there is a focus on sustainability and products that we really need, but also on meetings between people and how we do business. In this context, we think that exhibitions are a fantastic forum, offering so much under one roof. In the early days of Formex, the emphasis was on products made in Sweden and a fondness for decorating the dining table, and now we have come full circle. At the same time, it is our responsibility as a meeting place to promote innovation, says Lotta Ahlvar, Operative Event Manager for Formex.

Focus on retail, sustainability, trends and brands
Last fall, Formex launched a concept of theme days, where influential experts and leading figures in each area held talks. As these proved so popular, they will be returning in January with the same headings and focus as in August: Retail, Sustainability, Trends and Brands.
-The theme days bring something new to the event, as we serve up knowledge and inspiration on subjects that are important to our audience. And we do it together with strong partners such as Market magazine, retail body Svensk Handel, ColourHouse, trend institute Pej Gruppen, the Swedish Patent and Registration Office and the Swedish Chemicals Agency. This year the Retail day will focus on physical retail, because no matter how efficient we become, I believe people will always need to interact with each other in real Life, concludes Lotta Ahlvar.