No 8 / Cologne, Germany, 27 November 2020 // photokina will be suspended until further notice
After 70 years, decreases in the imaging market force a hard cut
In view of the further massive decline in markets for imaging products, Koelnmesse has decided to discontinue organising photokina at its Cologne location for the time being. “Unfortunately, at present the framework conditions in the industry do not provide a viable basis for the leading international trade fair for photography, video and imaging,” according to Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. “This hard cut after a 70-year shared history was very difficult for us. The trend in this industry, with which we have always had a close and trusting partnership, is very painful for us to witness. But we are facing the situation with a clear, honest decision against continuing this event, a decision to which, unfortunately, we have no alternative.”
Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, the imaging market was already subject to strong upheaval, with annual declines in the double digits. The momentum in this direction intensified massively in 2020, most recently reporting a decline in the 50-percent range. Recently, these developments have had a profound effect on photokina, which – in Cologne since 1950 – for generations has been the top address for the imaging industry and ranks among the most favourably and emotionally charged brands in the trade fair world.
Since 2014, Koelnmesse, together with the German Photo Industry Association, has taken its cue from downward market trends, responding with adjustments to the underlying concept of the trade fair as well as considerable investment in new exhibitor and visitor segments. “These changes in conceptual design, along with a shift in intervals and a change of dates, did not fundamentally improve the situation of the event,” says Oliver Frese, Management Board member and Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. “While there are more photographs taken today than ever before, the integration of smartphone photography and videography, together with image-based communication, e.g. via social media, was not able to cushion the elimination of large segments of the classic market. As a result, the overall situation is not compatible with the quality standards of photokina as a globally renowned brand representing the highest quality and professionalism in the international imaging market.”
Koelnmesse has made its decision in close coordination with the German Photo Industry Association. Kai Hillebrandt, Chairman of that association, remarked: “Our partners in Cologne have done everything in their power to maintain photokina as the leading global trade fair. Nonetheless, an event held in 2022 could not have met the expectations of the entire imaging community that those efforts were intended to serve. That is why we, on behalf of our association, are joining them in taking this regrettably unavoidable step. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the team in Cologne for a tremendous 70 years together!”
In the current situation this is not surprising, but it is still sad!
I've been to Photokina many times and will miss it
Black Friday got a new meaning today
for me just traveling 40 km at that time.
I will never forget the situation when a friend of mine - working on the
photokina temporarily - got her hair in the AF gear of a stripped EF lens
demo model.
And we fiddled to separate her from the display model without breaking
the model or sacrificing to much hair! (~1988)
Or eating a chicken steak on the terrace while wild birds gave some interesting
target for AF systems (~2010). While the steak tasted great I always was a
not really relaxe. What if some falcon or eagle wanted to taste a little
bit meat? But maybe they do not their more earth bound buddies.
Sad story that this fair might be over - but maybe a consequence of a market
spinning faster and faster ... to get the news more shiny gear instead of
using the tools as tools.
I belonged to a good photo club. The members started aging out. They resisted efforts to bring in younger photographers, but I and a few others persisted. And then Covid-19, and they loved Zoom, and decided almost right away even after the virus passes they will remain virtual to save driving evenings. And the club wouldn't have to spend $35 a month for a conference room with projection equipment...I had to quit.
One additional reason may be because I have worked on fair booths several times before and I found it too stressing on fairs.
But that just me.
Seeing that other fairs are still successful (in times w/o COVID-19) the question is, if it is the concept or the market that isn't working anymore for the photokina.
Seeing the numbers the market for sure is causing trouble. But seeing how many pics and vids are taken today I'd say it also the fair concept that's outdated.
but shrinking sales has made it difficult for companies to afford this. Back in the olde days, it was much cheaper to exhibit at these shows. Costs are gotten out of control though. The pandemic has destroyed much of what we’ve taken for granted.
Other hobbies have successfully developed traveling shows that hit major convention centers and draw people from hundreds of miles away. I'd certainly travel to Chicago, St. Louis or Indianapolis if there were a show where Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Sigma, Tamron, etc., were exhibiting. Possibly needs to be under the auspices of a retailer like Adorama or B&H.
Yes, for some reason we want to live our lives online without any human connection.
It might be because photo companies don't want to pay the huge costs preparing for a show like this in a declining market. It's a shame tho.
Not when people flocks to Youtube to watch someone else play with them...
Those now seem like more innocent distant times.
For the price of a trip to Germany (flight, hotel, etc) I could just rent the equipment.
I live in a big city, under 500,000 people. There are three big shops that sell photography equipment, three labs (read: sell film, develop, and scan / print, one also specializes in Lomo), a shop that specializes in old used equipment such as FD lenses, a small school that runs photography courses (has a few rooms for classes), etc. The larger metropolitan area has several more shops, e.g. Canon's official importer.
Yes, the 1 hour shops are gone, but Tamron wouldn't have a problem finding a shop to showcase their lenses in.
So, we have big box stores, mainly Best Buy and Costco selling consumer cameras for the most part. We have to buy from Seattle now at Glazers or Kenmore Camera as the closest physical pro Camera store. There is also Robi's Camera Supply near Tacoma. Some of these stores have hard to find products like the EF to RF adapters.
I thought the local shops not carrying 180x210mm NiSi filters made my home town provincial. Now having a local shop that sells 150x170mm NiSi filters looks like a privilege.