The Federal Association of the Shoe and Leather Goods Industry (HDS/L) and Messe Offenbach want to organize a new event for the shoe and leather goods industry next year.
The event called “069 Connect”, which will take place on June 24th and 25th, 2026 in Offenbach, is intended to bring together “decision-makers from the shoe and leather goods industry with all the important players in retail”, but was deliberately not designed as a conventional trade fair, the organizers explained in a joint press release on Thursday. The plan is to “bring the industry together in a central location”. It’s “about visibility, storytelling and encounters at eye level”. The HDS/L acts as the “idea generator and initiator” of the new format, while Messe Offenbach develops the concept and provides the premises.
Carl-August Seibel, chairman of the HDS/L, explained the concept. “Of course, as exhibitors we will have the opportunity to present our products, highlights and innovations – in a small, stylish setting,” he explained in a statement. “The ‘069 Connect’ will not be a sales event, but a place where ideas grow and new impulses for the industry are found. In Offenbach, decision-makers from industry and trade will meet in a relaxed atmosphere. The industry has been missing such an exclusive convention.”