Happy 60th birthday, EuroShop! The party is on in 2026 – and you're invited

The 1960s saw a radical change in the retail sector. In 1961, the Albrecht family founded the world's first discount grocery store. Traditional corner shops were replaced by self-service formats. The focus increasingly shifted from “What is being sold?” to “How is it being sold?”.

This is precisely where EuroShop came in in 1966: as a specialized trade fair for shopfitting, furnishings, technology, and display advertising. The premiere, held in Düsseldorf from June 11 to 15, attracted 333 exhibitors from eleven countries and more than 30,000 visitors.

• In the 1960s, open shelves and gondolas were all the rage, and shop windows were hugely important.
• In the 1970s, stores became places of experience, and lighting and store concepts became more sophisticated.
• The 1980s were marked by the digitization of merchandise management. Barcodes, scanning, and electronic cash register systems were all the rage.
• In the 1990s, technologies made great strides: interactive shop window systems, electronic price tags, and even the first virtual reality prototypes showed where the journey was headed.

I am therefore all the more delighted that EuroShop's fantastic journey is set to continue. We will soon be celebrating our big anniversary: from February 22 to 26, 2026 – EuroShop's 60th birthday – we will be transforming the Düsseldorf exhibition grounds into a Global Retail Festival. More than 1,900 exhibitors from over 60 countries will be there. You can also look forward to a fantastic supporting program, offering valuable insights into the industry's key topics on stages, in special areas, and on guided tours. And there will be plenty of networking and fun too, I promise!

Looking back on 60 years of EuroShop, one thing is clear: the retail sector never stands still. Every EuroShop has been a milestone of change – and 2026 will be no different. So if you want to know what the stores of tomorrow will look like, which technologies will revolutionize the shopping experience, or how sustainability and sales go hand in hand, don't miss this event.