Handmade in New York

From 20 to 23 May 2018, the Handmade in Germany World Tour gave a guest performance in New York. In the Jacob Jarvitz Center, centrally located in Manhattan, our exhibition of German manufactories was a guest at ICFF, the most important American furniture fair. The US market was still new territory for many manufactories, others, like Ingo Maurer, moved with the ease of several years of experience on the American floor.

A different experience than in China

After the numerous stops in China, the impressions from New York were different: The audience was knowledgeable, asked specific questions and often quickly answered the question about the availability of the products in the USA. Basically, it was felt that it would be easier for many manufacturers to enter the market here than in China. This led many exhibitors to decide to prefer activities in the USA to activities in China. The American market remains interesting for many medium-sized quality companies.

 

Despite some uncertainty through the current US government, investments by German SMEs in the USA remain at a high level. The general mood of German companies operating there is also positive. In the current AHK USA survey, all German companies surveyed expect growth for their business in 2019. The USA remains an attractive target market. The S‑CountryDesk and Deutsche Leasing network organizations, which are represented in the USA, are also observing this. German products are in demand like never before.

The US economy is the world’s largest buyer of German exports and the No. 1 sales market for German products. This is not only due to the sheer market volume. Americans are very open to new products and trends. This is favourable for the plans of German medium-sized companies who want to expand or invest. The figures, however, mainly concern the classic German middle class, e.g. machine industry. For manufacturers and quality producers, the starting points are more difficult.

For most exhibitors this “handmade” station was the beginning of a hopefully longer romance with the American market, especially with New York, which, as is well known, still has the most billionaires as inhabitants. Although you don’t have to be a billionaire to be able to purchase the artistic handicraft products from Germany, the attention paid to quality products on the American continent is considerable, as we were able to feel on the spot.

Website:
https://www.handmade-worldtour.com