FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - With a new hall and a fully booked record area, the Frankfurt consumer goods fair Ambiente has started its first edition after the pandemic. 4561 exhibitors from 160 countries show until Tuesday their trends for living, eating, drinking, cooking and giving. The fair expects more than 100 000 trade visitors. The great mass of the exhibited goods is genuine, but according to the assessment of "Aktion Plagiarius", product pirates are also expanding their illegal business via digital channels.

Fake Gucci caps and imitation Rolex watches are openly advertised on the net: The association, founded by designers, draws attention to a trend in social media. So-called dupe influencers recommend fake designer and luxury products to their mostly young followers there. "They self-aggrandizingly legitimize the sale of infringing items and downplay the purchase as cool and acceptable." As a result, social acceptance of counterfeiting increases, he said, and indifference to the economic damage caused to manufacturers and designers of counterfeit products emerges.

The campaign has been fighting against product pirates and their worldwide billion-dollar sales since 1977. The "Plagiarius" award - a dwarf with a golden nose - regularly denounces manufacturers and retailers of particularly brazen imitations. Often, the references come from the original manufacturers, who must agree to the awarding of the invective prize. The manifestations of digital trademark infringements are becoming increasingly diverse, the association criticizes. "From classic plagiarism, counterfeiting and copyright infringement to domain theft and brand abuse to complete identity theft and fake stores." Digital protection strategies are needed against this, he said.

This year, the main bashing prize goes to a German furniture retailer that distributed a replica of a wall shelving system, the original of which came from Hamburg-based design studio Hausen. Instead of certified solid wood from sustainable forests, the plagiarists reportedly used low-quality tropical mango wood, and the cheap metal brackets were warped. According to Plagiarius, the retailer stopped sales after the plagiarism became known and destroyed remaining stocks. Other victims of product piracy included the plastic design house Koziol and carmakers Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

The pandemic-hit trade show company celebrated the opening of Hall 5, which increased the gross exhibition area of the downtown site to nearly 353,000 square meters. "This investment sustainably strengthens Frankfurt as a trade fair location," explained Stephanie Wüst, chairwoman of the supervisory board. She added that the event impressively demonstrated the possibilities offered by the site with the new hall. The owners, Frankfurt and Hesse, had supported Messe Frankfurt during the Corona crisis with loans worth millions and equity capital.

Together with the once independent Christmasworld and Creativeworld trade fairs, Ambiente now forms the largest consumer goods show ever held in Frankfurt, which - the organizers hope - no buyer from the industry will be able to bypass in the near future. Among other things because of the smaller attendance from China the organizers assume however smaller numbers with the specialized public. At the start of the fair, however, the aisles were bustling with activity.

Ambiente is regarded as the world's leading trade fair for consumer goods. Christmasworld and Creativeworld also make this global claim for the themes of Christmas decorations and handicrafts and creativity. The trade fair is meeting with a subdued consumer mood, at least in Germany. Market researchers at IFH Cologne assume that the sharp rise in the cost of living will limit the scope for additional consumer spending in 2023. Private consumer spending in Germany is expected to fall by 1.9 percent, and a recovery is not in sight until the following year. The organizers expect impetus from the trend toward new working environments in offices, hotels and at home./ceb/DP/stw