Crowded Opti Munich show breaks records

Organisers of Opti Munich's first show following the demise of its Cologne rival Optica have deemed the event a success, with record numbers of visitors attending from both Germany and overseas.
Last weekend's three-day exhibition (January 10-12) attracted 25,096 visitors, up 13 per cent on last year, with nearly one third (7,528) of these coming from abroad Ð a 22 per cent increase on 2002.
Dr Arno JŠger, managing director of the show's organiser OK Messen, told optician: 'We are very happy with the show, especially since the economy in Europe and particularly Germany is not so good at present. The British visitors I met found it very useful Ð they were astonished at the quality and quantity of exhibitors.'
Dr JŠger added that the planned move next year to the New Munich Trade Fair Centre comes at a good time, since there were some 120 companies unable to exhibit this year due to lack of space at the current venue. Indeed, the exhibition attracted so many visitors on the Saturday and Sunday, that the new venue will come as a relief.
Dr JŠger predicted that the seventh Opti Munich, which takes place from January 16-18, 2004, would have an exhibition area of around 40,000 sq m.
Merseyside-based frame firm Continental Eyewear was one of the few UK companies exhibiting at the show. Sales and marketing director Neal Grimason said the exhibition was excellent, not only from his company's point of view, but for UK visitors also.
'If an optician asks me which show they should go to outside the UK, I would tell them Munich,' he said.
'It's more manageable than the likes of Mido and Silmo and there is a lot of interesting product here.'
Major exhibitors at the event included Rodenstock, Carl Zeiss, Silhouette, Bausch & Lomb, Johnson & Johnson and Luxottica.
A feature on the Opti Munich show will be published in optician on January 31.