It's been a superb summer for sport all ends up, even without any significant input from the British Isles or Ireland. Euro 2008 was a huge success and as a footballing spectacle, one of the best tournaments I can remember. The organisers did a fine job from what I could see, the the competing nations provided an absolute feast of remarkable, heartbreaking and thrilling football.

The fifth ispo china winter 09 is being held from 19 -21 February 2009 in the China International Exhibition Center (CIEC) in Beijing. The trade fair will cover a considerably larger area than in 2008, with 25,000 square metres compared to 20,000. As well as successfully establishing itself after only two fairs at the new location - the Olympic city and capital of China, Beijing - the organizers are now focusing on increased acquisition measures both in China and abroad and an extended range of services.

Maud von Hoff has taken up a new post as Communications Manager, Consumer Goods Fairs at Messe München GmbH. In this role she will be managing the trade fairs ispo, Golf Europe and inhorgenta europe. She has already been working with Messe München GmbH, in particular ispo, for many years, on the industry side.

Specialist sports clothing company Impsport has been snapped up by Reynolds Sports for an undisclosed sum. Impsport produces custom made sports clothing, event signage, numbers, printing and embroidery for leisurewear. In 2007 the business generated £1.1million of turnover, with 75 per cent generated through custom-made sports clothing for cycling, triathlon and running. Turnover in 2008 is already up by 8 per cent with sales expected to continue to grow. The business employs 32 staff based at its manufacturing and operations premises in Lincoln.

Running specialist store Derby Runner has been crowned overall winners of the New Balance NBX Elite dealer initiative for 2008. Apart from the accolade, the store also receives a brand new New Balance van.

This year's Fitness Industry Association (FIA) Golf Day is on Wednesday August 20th at the prestigious Warwickshire Golf & Country Club. Gatorade, the world's biggest selling sports drink, will be sponsoring the event which see over 150 key representatives from the industry enjoy a day of sport and networking.

Hot on the heels of their success at the 2007 Business Excellence Awards, Harrod UK Ltd have been awarded Investors In People (IIP) status for the fifth consecutive time.

The STAG Buying Group is leveraging its position as market leader in the industry sector by launching its own newssheet called Counter Intelligence, with the descriptive strapline "Good to Think: Better To Know". The information-based newsletter, which is currently circulating amongst STAG's membership, has been launched to help provide a more effective dialogue amongst members and suppliers who make up the STAG family.

2008 sees a host of new brands and features at the UK's only trade event dedicated to the boardsports industry. This September, no other event can match the array of new hardware and apparel on display from some of the world's leading brands in surf, skate, windsurfing, mountainboarding and kitesurfing.     

Wilson [K] Factor racket technology took the Wimbledon Championships by storm this year as no fewer than 11 players appeared in finals and six took titles with [K] Factor rackets, including the first British singles title winner for 24 years.

Lotto's Marketing and Communications Director Alberto Landi has passed away after a sudden illness at the age of just 36. Graduated in Business Economics from Venice University, Alberto began his professional career at the European Union Consumer General Management offices in Brussels.

Wilson Sports has appointed former Welsh International Steve Yates as its first Badminton Marketing Manager with the aim of establishing Wilson as the No.1 badminton brand in the UK.

Sports manufacturer Mitre has announced a four-year extension to their contract with the All England Netball Association to continue as their official ball supplier until 2012.

After the success of last year's pavilion, the FSPA is again organizing an exhibiting group at the ispo winter show, which attracts more than 60,000 visitors from across Europe. The pavilion will be in the C Halls which is the showcase of year-round activities like running, triathlon, team sports, swimming, racket sports, darts and more.

ODLO is seeking to appoint an Area Manager to cover northern England and Scotland, an announcement which comes following consistently rising sales, bringing in its wake an increasing share of the sports, ski and outdoor markets where ODLO has reported an overall 50 per cent increase in turnover.

Continuing its pledge to support the growth of triathlon across Europe, Aqua Sphere has become the official swim equipment partner to Waterways Ireland triAthlone, Ireland's biggest triathlon. Held in Athlone in and around the beautiful River Shannon in the heart of Ireland, the race has come a long way in just three years and joined the ITU European Triathlon Cup for the first time on July 12th 2008.

Molten, the world's leading manufacturer of balls and sports equipment, has announced that the Molten GL7/GL6 basketball (men/women models) has been chosen by FIBA (International Basketball Federation) as the official basketball for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and that production of these basketballs has already commenced at Molten's brand new Chinese factory established in Jiaxing, 90km south west of Shanghai.

Leading sportswear manufacturer Canterbury of New Zealand has announced New Zealand Black Caps as the latest team to join is rapidly growing stable of endorsees. The deal will see Canterbury become the apparel sponsor of the Blackcaps for the next three years.

When I was in the trade I seldom, if ever, missed a chance to meet my suppliers. Serious buying would usually take place ‘by appointment' and took too long to happen at exhibitions. Fill-ins were easy because reps called regularly and there was always the phone. So why did I think it so vital to attend the shows? Firstly it was a chance to compare product.

The sports shop has always played a vital role in providing the equipment and apparel needed for local amateurs to play sport. But anyone who has worked in the sports trade for a length of time knows that the market never stands still and that there have been some profound changes in the trade over the long term.

Dunlop has developed a revolutionary new technology to perfectly complement and enhance AEROGEL^TM for their 2009 range of rackets. The new 4D BRAIDEDTM technology is constructed with four directional braiding of superlight S-glass fibres.

REYDON Sports' eagerly-awaited catalogue has broken through the 300 page barrier for the first time.

Launching a new brand is never easy, no matter what industry it is in. But launching a brand which operates across all sports, and which has a healthy message and brilliant POS and advertising material... Well, it certainly has a fighting chance.

There comes a time when enough is enough and I reached that point very suddenly earlier this month. Passing another birthday milestone, then hearing of a good friend finding himself with a serious health problem, flagged up once again that life is short and I needed to live a bit. An escape for a week of wine, good food and sun was needed.

The North Face has opened a new flagship store in the heart of Europe's fashion capital, Milan.  The Milan retail store - the third wholly owned The North Face store in Europe - opened its doors on 19 June.

Camping mat specialist Multimat has expanded into the North American market with an exclusive distribution deal expected to be worth around $700,000.

Cleaning and proofing specialists Granger's is launching a new aftercare guide for retail staff and consumers that aims to de-mystify the topic of product care.

HI-TEC has seen sales rise by 21% for the first quarter 2008 against the same period the previous year. HI-TEC attributed this growth to its increasingly strong position within the outdoor sector and continued expansion and development with its European distributors.

Wolverine World Wide has named Jean-Pierre Petit as Outdoor Group EMEA Managing Director, overseeing operations for Merrell and Patagonia Footwear. Petit, who has more than 13 years of experience in the outdoor, sporting goods and consumer product industries, most recently held a 12-year position with Nike as general manager of Football for the EMEA region. He will be based in the Wolverine EMEA office in London.

Snugpak has invested heavily in its Yorkshire-based manufacturing facility.  The building, now Grade 2 listed, is a former woollen mill and dates back to the 1850s.  Recent investment has included new office facilities, reception area, staff canteen and a sales showroom.

Topher Gaylord, President of VF Outdoor & Action Sports International, which comprises The North Face, Vans and Reef brands, recently won the legendary Nemea-Olympia ultramarathon in Greece.

These prestigious APEX awards go to the best Polartec-based garments that will be available to consumers in Autumn 2008. Winners are selected based on the style, function and fit of the garment, as well as the most innovative and appropriate uses of Polartec fabrics. In addition to a Tiffany crystal award and bragging rights for a year, winners can participate in a custom hangtag promoting the product at a consumer level and additional Polartec marketing support through product placement with media and events.

With a cleaner fresher look, the new logo replaces the existing one immediately and provides the European Outdoor Group with a modern, stronger visual representation. To retain continuity and some recognition within the industry the blue of the old logo was retained.

One hundred years ago the North Pole was conquered by American explorers, Robert Peary and Matthew Henson. Or was it? After both had died, claims were made that they had lost their way and missed the pole by a hundred miles.

Since being bought out of receivership by Sports Direct, Karrimor is regaining some of the reputation built up so carefully over many years as one of Britain's premier outdoor gear manufacturers. Neil Kennedy and Mark Tucker explain some of the changes in the brand, and what's been done to rebuild it.

This A/W 08 Patagonia are topping the recycled agenda with an industry first in producing the first ever recyclable nylon jacket!

New ranges, new fabric technologies and new colourways all mean that Dare2b has their strongest summer range yet.

Craghoppers have finally done it. Admittedly it's taken a few years of serious contemplation and extensive R&D before they were ready to present their footwear collection to the world, but that's the crag's way - if a thing's worth doing it's worth doing brilliantly!

It's been featured heavily in both national and specialist press recently; but there's still more to SPOT than meets the eye.

This season heralds a completely new range of the ever popular Climatic range from Haglöfs. Gone are the confusing segment names of Thor, Rabot and Nansen, replaced with simplified names that better describe their suitability:

The Trail line innovates from the inside out - packed full of performance features for the most intense outdoor activities, and oozing with style for relaxing after a hard day's exercise.

Minima Stretch Jacket

 The Minima Jacket uses Nike proprietary Gore Paclite fabric, making it not only waterproof and breathable but incredibly lightweight. Its ability to perform come rain or shine is complemented by a hood that packs into the collar and vents under the arms. You can also listen to your iPod while hitting the trail roads with an inner storage/audio pocket built into the core of the jacket.

Result Performance has introduced the soft shell bodywarmer into its range of softshell outerwear, SRP £49.