MUNICH, Germany—In a press conference held on Wednesday morning, opti Trade Show's executive team reconfirmed the show's plan to take place from January 8-10, 2021, at the Stuttgart Exhibition Centre in Stuttgart, Germany. Usually held in Munich, next year will mark opti's first year in Stuttgart, and moving forward the show will alternate locations every year, occurring in Munich on even numbered years and Stuttgart on odd numbered ones. opti anticipates that this move will make the show accessible to more new markets.

The press conference featured five panelists: Josef May, chairman SPECTARIS - German Industry Association for Optical, Medical and Mechatronic Technologies e.V.; Thomas Truckenbrod, president of the Central Association of Opticians and Optometrists (ZVA); Nikolaj Schnoor, global chief commercial officer of LINDBERG; Dieter Dohr, chairman of the management board of Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH (GHM); and Bettina Reiter, project manager at opti.

opti reported that the German optical industry recorded its most successful financial year in a decade in 2019, and that in every one of the last few years, Germany’s central association of opticians and optometrists (Zentralverband der Augenoptiker und Optometristen für Deutschland) has recorded an increase in turnover of at least 2 percent, and 3.8 percent in 2019. In an announcement, the company said, "it remains to be seen how the current crisis will affect the industry. Due to its excellent starting position, there are justified hopes that DACH (German, Austrian, and Swiss) markets will be less affected by this crisis and its repercussions." opti also shared a detailed, visual breakdown of the German market online.

Next year, opti said it expects to see stable visitor numbers, because 80 percent of attendees are from either Germany, Austria or Switzerland. In addition, opti reported that the German domestic market is expected to continue to grow in the near future. Martin Himmelsbach, managing director of IPRO GmbH, an opti exhibitor, said, “At opti, we meet our core market: opticians from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As such, the trade fair is our company’s most important marketing measure. Our participation in the trade show has the aim of winning over new customers and maintaining existing contacts.”

In the announcement, opti said, "...the essence of opti, the quality and the added value for exhibitors and visitors, will remain the same. The structure and reliability on the one hand, and the special atmosphere and offers on the other, have made opti a “meeting place among friends” for the industry, both nationally and internationally, even if this is likely to look a little different to ensure a safe stage for good business in 2021 as a result of COVID-19."

The full press conference is available to watch online here.