German brassware manufacturer Hansgrohe Group has cancelled its appearance at trade exhibition ISH, which will be held in Frankfurt from March 22-26.
It is another blow for the global bathroom show, which has already seen Grohe pull out of ISH in 2021.
Parent company of Hansgrohe and Axor brands said the decision followed “an intense analysis of the global situation in response to Coronavirus.”
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As part of its assessment, Hansgroup Group stated it reviewed “possible hygiene solutions”, current trade fair experiences, and had conversations with its international customers.
Chief sales officer and executive board member of Hansgrohe Christophe Gourlan said: “We made the decision absolutely not easy for ourselves, but the protection of the health of our customers and our employees is out top priority.”
The company said, at the present time, it was unable to assess the spread of the virus or the pandemic’s development around the world.
Gourlan added: “We regret this very much because a trade fair lives from real product experiences, and, also from personal conversations with our customers. However, this is not possible in the current situation.”
But the company has not ruled out exhibiting at future trade exhibitions, as Gourlan commented: “Even though digitalisation is becoming more and more important in our everyday lives, trade fairs remain an important part of our exchange with installers and the trade.”
All product launches planned for 2021 will go ahead across all markets.