DACH (Germany/Austria/Switzerland)

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 24, 2026 -- Swiss AI specialist Spitch AG has published an analysis identifying a strategic reorientation among contact center operators: businesses are moving away from collections of isolated AI tools and toward unified, governance-capable platforms. The company, which offers a collaborative agentic AI platform for call and contact centers, attributes the shift to rising pressure around compliance, data sovereignty, and the need to scale AI deployments in a controlled and auditable way. The analysis positions conversational AI not as a standalone product experiment, but as a core enterprise function requiring structured oversight.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 24, 2026 -- The BHB GardenSummit convened for the eleventh time at the spoga+gafa trade fair in Cologne, bringing together senior executives and industry experts from across the garden retail and home improvement sector to assess market conditions and chart strategy for turbulent times. This year's event introduced a notable format change — shifting from the fair's final day to the second day — and closed with a joint garden party hosted by BHB and partner association IVG. The summit covered ground from hard sales data and consumer sentiment to brand management, staff development, and the documented mental health benefits of green space.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 15, 2026 -- GS1 Germany is bringing its GS1 Step Inside community event format to Mars Wrigley's site in Unterhaching on July 14, 2026, focusing on point-of-sale touchpoint strategy and shopper activation. The six-hour event draws decision-makers and specialists from category management, shopper marketing, trade marketing, and e-commerce for a behind-the-scenes session combining presentations, interactive formats, and peer networking. Contributions from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Germany and Yagora are part of the agenda. The event is capped at 145 participants.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 15, 2026 -- GS1 Germany and Yagora GmbH are jointly hosting a free, hour-long online session on June 24, 2026, focused on the future direction of category management and shopper marketing. The session targets category managers, trade marketing professionals, and data and analytics specialists working in retail. Attendees will receive applied strategic input on the fastest-growing retail categories, point-of-sale insights translation, and practical promotional guidance drawn from both food and non-food environments.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 7, 2026 -- Mr. Wheels®, a car care brand covering rims, windows, paint and interiors, will present its product portfolio at The Tire Cologne 2026 in Hall 7.1, Booth D20/E25. The display centres on the Power Trio — the Mr. Wheels® Wheel Cleaner, Wheel Sealant and Tire Shine — alongside five further products covering exterior paint protection, interior hygiene and glass care. The Wheel Cleaner, the most technically specified product in the range, is acid-free, TPMS-compatible and effective across all standard wheel finish types. All products in the range are formulated without hazardous substances.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 6, 2026 -- Huawei showcased the backup and data protection capabilities of its OceanProtect solution through the OceanStor Talks webinar series, with a live demo session conducted on 29 May 2026. The demonstration covered three core performance areas central to enterprise storage decisions: fast backup and recovery throughput, data reduction efficiency, and broad workload compatibility across both traditional and emerging application environments. M. Murat Kalak, Senior Solutions POC Testing Specialist, led the session on behalf of Huawei. The OceanStor Talks series continues with sessions scheduled through October 2026 covering additional storage, HPC and data center topics.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 2, 2026 -- The BHB-GardenSummit, now in its eleventh edition, returns on June 23 with a revised format that reflects feedback from long-standing attendees. Germany's trade association for the home improvement and garden retail sector has shifted the event from the closing day of the spoga + gafa fair in Cologne to the fair's second day, a change developed in coordination with KoelnMesse. The summit closes with a joint garden party co-hosted by BHB and partner association IVG in Hall 6, positioning the networking finale as a centerpiece of the event.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - June 2, 2026 -- Germany's home improvement and garden retail sector reported a gross revenue decline of 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier, with the like-for-like figure narrowing further to minus 0.5 percent, according to data published by BHB - Handelsverband Heimwerken, Bauen und Garten e.V., the German-speaking region's leading DIY trade association. Austria recorded a modest increase of 0.5 percent over the same period. Switzerland posted an overall decline of 3.2 percent, though adjusted for floor space the market turned positive at plus 1.0 percent, a pattern the association attributed to national one-off factors rather than structural weakness.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - May 15, 2026 - BSI Software has acquired German contact center technology provider Sikom Software GmbH to strengthen the communication and omnichannel capabilities of its BSI Customer Suite platform. The transaction expands BSI Software's position in AI-driven CRM and customer experience technologies by integrating intelligent contact center functionality designed for regulated industries including insurance and healthcare. The acquisition combines CRM, AI-powered customer experience processes and omnichannel interaction management within a broader enterprise communications framework. Both companies said the move is intended to support more integrated customer engagement and operational workflow management across service, sales and marketing environments.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - April 3, 2026 - Cycling industry buyers, product managers, and trade journalists face a concentrated window for hands-on evaluation of new road, gravel, and XC equipment as five brands present spring-summer 2026 collections and prototype technology at Cyclingworld Düsseldorf, held March 20-22, 2026 at the Düsseldorf exhibition grounds.