PL – The 18th edition of the RemaDays Warsaw – International Advertising and Print Fair – was staged from February 1-3, 2023 at the Nadarzyn Exhibition Centre in Warsaw. According to the organisers, over 500 companies or brands from the advertising and printing industry presented themselves to the visitors in Halls E and F of Poland’s largest exhibition complex.
The event was divided up into various sections dedicated to different focal themes, which were indicated by different coloured carpets: Especially Gifts World offered the suppliers of haptic advertising space, further focuses among others were Outdoor Advertising, Packaging Materials, POS & Display, Printing House, the Technology Park and the Textile Zone. Seminar and lecture areas were integrated into the exhibition sections and the trade show was flanked by the Rema Congress, where inter alia marketing themes as well as printing and individualising techniques were addressed by the speakers.
According to official accounts, 22,656 visitors were counted over the three days of the event, including 3,732 from abroad and 714 participants from organized groups. Indeed, the show seemed to be relatively well-attended (albeit evidently not always by trade visitors, but in fact also by many young people), particularly on the first two days of the show. The atmosphere at the event has changed significantly. Whereas in the past the aisles tended to be narrow and a lively hustle and bustle often prevailed with many small stands of specialists alongside larger full-range stockists filling the halls – including also many international suppliers of haptic advertising –, the booths were much more spaciously planned at this edition: The aisles were wide, there were catering and lecture zones in the halls, crowding at the stands or in the aisles remained an exception.
The majority of both the exhibitors and visitors were Polish, however a few came from Italy, Austria, Germany and other European countries. This particular edition of the show at least didn’t underline the fact that the event continues to be a “must” for European promotional products professionals. Nevertheless, the visitors were provided with a good market overview including also the haptic advertising sector – even if many international suppliers, who had flown their flag at the RemaDays for years, were missing.
The event was organised by the new owner, PTAK Warsaw Expo, for the first time this year, who acquired the show from the founder, GJC International. A quite considerable number of former exhibitors allegedly decided to exhibit at the Promo Show 2023 organised by OOH Magazine at the Expo XXI in Warsaw on February 8 and 9, instead of at the RemaDays.
The trade fair scene is obviously also undergoing change in Eastern Europe. It remains to be seen whether the RemaDays can assert their claim as being “The second largest advertising and print fair in Europe” in future.
// Michael Scherer
photos: Michael Scherer, © WA Media
