The interior industry has plenty of meeting places. What it has increasingly lacked is one that brings everyone together. Especially in the premium segment, manufacturers, planners and decision-makers have been spread across a range of different events and formats. Maik Fischer sees an opportunity for Cologne in this. The Orgatec director wants to concentrate the industry's presence more strongly in Cologne, drawing on the trade fair's international reach. It is an ambitious strategy at a time when the furniture industry is under pressure and companies are scrutinising their trade fair budgets closely. Because anyone who wants to bring the industry together has to offer one thing above all: real commercial value.

To that end, Cologne is broadening its scope. Alongside its established workspace business, Orgatec aims to make greater inroads into the contract market, while idd cologne is set to bring high-end residential design to the city. That the boundaries between these segments have long since become more fluid is well known. At the same time, Koelnmesse had to rethink its original plans for additional idd hall space. Fischer describes this as an adjustment to the wishes of the industry. The question of how the various formats will work together in future becomes all the more important as a result. Fischer's calculation sounds convincing. Whether it adds up will be decided from 27 October in the halls – and afterwards in the exhibitors' order books.

furnomics: Mr Fischer, back in January a dedicated hall concept was still being promoted for idd cologne. By June it had been dropped. How do you explain the change of course?
Maik Fischer: Nothing has changed about the basic concept. Our goal from the outset was to bring all three areas together this year: workspace, contract and residential. Only one thing changed: we had initially planned for residential to take place on the exhibition grounds as well – not exclusively, but in addition. We moved away from that and returned to a purely urban format. That was a response to market developments.

furnomics: So the industry didn't want to be in the halls?
Maik Fischer: I don't need to tell you how the residential furniture industry is faring in Germany and Europe. The preference was for other forms of presentation. The Design Post is an ideal venue for that, and for many it is also a familiar one when it comes to residential furniture. Then there are partners such as the machwerkhaus. In the end, we adapted our concept to what the industry wanted.

furnomics: So you made adjustments with idd. How much change does Orgatec need?
Maik Fischer: Not a revolution, but constant evolution. Anyone who was there in 2024 will find a lot that is familiar this year. We are continuing the Work Culture Festival and fine-tuning it here and there – we've learned some lessons. The biggest change lies in our positioning: we are known for workspace, but we want to make it clearer that Orgatec has long been a trade fair for the contract sector as well – we simply haven't said that clearly enough until now.

furnomics: Orgatec now features brands such as Cor and Thonet, which some would initially associate with the residential sector. So is high-end residential moving back into the exhibition halls after all?
Maik Fischer: Spaces are increasingly merging. The office is more and more becoming a public space. And companies that used to be strongly focused on residential are moving further into the contract business. Cor is one example, and there are a few more on our grounds that might surprise people at first. But today a Cor piece can sit perfectly well in the foyer of an insurance company or in an open-plan space. For us, that is not surprising. Where a company places the focus of its Orgatec presentation this year is ultimately a matter of corporate strategy.

furnomics: A residential furniture manufacturer that wants to enter the project business needs different contacts than in furniture retail: architects, hospitality planners, project developers. How are you bringing more of them to Cologne?
Maik Fischer: They have long been part of our core target group: dealers, facility managers, project planners, property managers, plus many workplace consultants from within companies. If anything, the movement is coming from the other direction: manufacturers looking to enter the contract business have recognised that Orgatec is exactly the platform for reaching this new target group. For us, it has long been an established part of our visitor profile.

furnomics: So you don't need to attract any new visitors at all?
Maik Fischer: Of course we're not resting on our laurels. Visitors don't simply turn up on their own; it is our job every single time to bring them to Cologne. There are three levels to this: we can strengthen our reach within existing target groups – winning over even more planners, for example. We can expand geographically, attracting more visitors from Italy or Spain, for instance. And to some extent we can tap into new target groups.

furnomics: Such as?
Maik Fischer: As I understand it, residential and workspace retail in Switzerland are still very much separate. In Germany they are already more intertwined; dealers cover everything. So for the interior week, it is our task to also win over Swiss residential dealers who would not otherwise have come to Cologne. And many of them then go on to visit the trade fair too, because a brand like Cor is exhibiting there, for example.

furnomics: The furniture industry is in crisis and marketing budgets are shrinking. How do you put on a trade fair under these conditions?
Maik Fischer: We are, of course, in close and ongoing dialogue with our exhibitors, including those who are not taking part in 2026. There are always individual reasons, but many are under enormous cost pressure. A trade fair is one instrument in the marketing mix, and that has to be weighed up. But I am convinced that trade fairs are highly efficient if the goal is to make contacts and generate sales leads. Nowhere can you do that as efficiently as at a marketplace – and that is exactly what a trade fair has been for centuries. This marketplace is working this year too, despite these turbulent times.

furnomics: Efficiency is a big word – how do you measure it?
Maik Fischer: We look at visitor quality: what decision-making authority do visitors have, which sector do they come from? These are important metrics. But they would be meaningless on their own if exhibitors didn't tell us: that was a successful show. Every company defines success differently. But most can probably agree on three things. First, sales leads: will my participation help drive my business going forward? We're not a trade fair centred on taking orders. The days when an exhibitor could say, "I took 5,000 orders here," are over. Second, brand positioning and innovation. And third, market observation: the industry watches what the industry is doing.

furnomics: In 2024, around 50,000 trade visitors came to Orgatec. What visitor numbers do you expect in 2026?
Maik Fischer: Experience tells us it is still too early for a visitor forecast, even just a few weeks before the show. We do see people buying their tickets earlier and earlier. But deriving a forecast from the current registrations is far too difficult – we've learned that in recent years. Three days before the show I could tell you more. Our goal is once again to bring a strong international trade audience to Cologne. What matters most to us is not just the numbers, but above all the quality of the contacts and the commercial value for our exhibitors.

furnomics: Since the restructuring of imm cologne, many premium manufacturers have been asking: which is our trade fair now? What do you tell them?
Maik Fischer: We are gaining traction in the premium market. We can see that now: the Design Post is fully booked, including many temporary exhibitors. Residential in combination with Orgatec has a future. Of course, in the end every exhibitor decides for themselves. But those who want it will find the right home in Cologne. And yes, I also believe there are currently too many regional events in Germany. We hear that from exhibitors as well. The industry needs to close ranks. The Cologne interior week around Orgatec and idd cologne still has the greatest reach and the greatest market penetration in Germany, extending far beyond its borders.

furnomics: Apart from reach and market penetration, what can Cologne actually do better than others?
Maik Fischer: With Orgatec we have a strong brand, very well known at least in Europe, and overseas as well. For an intangible product like a trade fair, that matters, because the brand is one of an event's most important assets. And we know a great many visitors from previous years. We have an enormous database – very few have one of this depth and breadth. That allows us to market in a targeted way and bring many qualified visitors to Cologne. That sets us apart from many regional events, especially newer ones.

furnomics: Koelnmesse now takes Orgatec to Asia and the Middle East itself. What role will Cologne play in the long term?
Maik Fischer: There is a solid rationale behind it: we bring marketplaces to where supply and demand need one. The structure is clear. There is one flagship, a platform where the world comes together and innovations are showcased. That is Orgatec in Cologne. Our events in Tokyo, Saudi Arabia or India are platforms in the region, from the region, for the region. That is why we see many exhibitors who are in Cologne and also in India, but not in Japan, for example, because Japan is not their market.

furnomics: Isn't there a risk that the spin-offs will draw exhibitors and visitors away from Cologne in the long run?
Maik Fischer: What we can demonstrate for every trade fair where we take this approach is that events abroad always strengthen the leading trade fair in Cologne too. Interzum is the best example. Since we've been in Guangzhou, we've seen growth from China. And since Orgatec Tokyo was launched, interest among exhibitors and visitors in Cologne has been rising as well. In the end, all our events benefit. Our aim is for our international events to complement and strengthen one another. Cologne remains our flagship international trade fair.

furnomics: What do you base that on?
Maik Fischer: There are two benchmarks. Is exhibitor interest in the Cologne event growing from a particular country or region? And are there, at least in the medium term, visitor increases from those regions? Of course, other factors also play a role. But when we hold an event in a region, it is also about awareness. Some people say: oh, there's this platform – I didn't know about it before.

furnomics: So will there be more Orgatec spin-offs?
Maik Fischer: That depends on where the industry wants a marketplace. If there is no demand, it isn't a business model for us. ORGATEC Tokyo is the prime example: the latest edition in 2026 brought together around 33,500 trade visitors. Growth this rapid is exceptional, even for us. It is down to the fact that the Japanese association approached us because it needed this marketplace, and we launched the fair together with them and our local subsidiary. Wherever we hear such a wish from the industry and can confirm it ourselves, we will open marketplaces. Where that will be, I don't know today. But I hope there will be more Orgatecs.

furnomics: If we look five or six years ahead: how will Orgatec change?
Maik Fischer: As things stand today, I would say the merging of spaces will continue for the foreseeable future. Orgatec will therefore position itself even more strongly in the contract market. And we will continue to strengthen high-end residential design in Cologne, in whatever form. With idd, we are doing this in tandem for the first time. I believe that is the future of the industry.