Shortly before the IMM opened the German Furniture Association announced that the production of furniture in Germany fell by 10% last year.
And if what is on show in Cologne is the very best the German furniture consumer can look forward to in the coming 12 months - expect a further reduction.
And by a lot more than 10%
Truly, truly ugly.
Imagine hell decorated by the devil with a really, really bad hangover - and your getting near to what we endured in some halls this afternoon.
Indeed the furniture being offered in some halls could easily lead the untrained observer to think that some furniture producers had simply given up on concepts such as aesthetics or form in favour of purely satisfying the lowest common denominator.
And so much repetition of offensive cheap ugliness.
Some stands were so appalling that we didn't venture in for fear of damaging our health.
Granted, there are an awful lot of very good items on display.
But what is interesting is that many of the truly good items are from producers who aren't even here - which makes you wonder who is to blame for the truly appalling collections being shown on some stands: and the fact that those producers who can achieve standards of quality aren't represented here.
For if the German furniture industry wants to recover, they are going to have to start offering the consumer a bit more variety, a lot more quality and a lot more imaginative and thoughtful design.
But as we say, there is genuine quality here, and we will present that too you in the coming posts.
And there are tables in the press room...
