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Destination Munich
Online registration at ispo.com has already begun and if you book a four day pass before December 3rd, it costs just 25 Euros. This is a massive trade show and the coming event will be its 40th year of trading. An important change is that the show is no longer called ispo winter. From 2010 it will be simply ispo. At the same time there is no longer a summer ispo.
A new name
This change comes about because the trade did not realise that it is not simply a ski and winter sports show. The increase in fitness, outdoor, performance and style sections as well as the addition of Sports Source Europe within ispo (replacing the sourcing halls) means it is a far more comprehensive event. As ski hardware has experienced a tough time, other product sectors have developed, so ispo has evolved with the market. In the same way, Bike Expo was launched in 2009 and replaces the summer event.
The show continues its communities format to help visitors identify key areas of interest. The hall plan has a new layout reflecting latest developments. Ski ispo is between board and outdoor, the latter growing such that ispo is the outdoor winter destination. Ispovision showcases edgey product concepts whilst sportsyle covers the important lifestyle sector. SSE enables retailers to source own label product and offers expertise for those looking at manufacturing and import/export.
The FSPA is bringing a large group of exhibitors to the show covering a wide range of sectors - outdoor, performance, ski and sourcing.
The 2009 show was a significant success despite a transport strike in Munich, with 60,000 visitors from more than 100 countries to see exhibits by 1950 companies from 50 countries. The international character of the show was reaffirmed with 66% of visitors and 83% of exhibitors coming from abroad.
The show organisers reported a very positive response from exhibitors and visitors alike - which is impressive given the economic climate at the time. A good level of entries for the new Eco Responsibility Award was seen, demonstrating that the industry has recognised and embraced the commercial benefit of using recyclable and natural materials without compromising functionality.
Meet, greet and sell
But what do exhibitors believe to be the benefits of a stand at ispo? Dan Calvert, UK marketing manager for Timex, sees a lot of advantages. They see it as an opportunity to meet key retailers and distributors, to launch major new products to the trade ad to increase brand awareness - quite a lot in four days. For 2010 Timex have three new products to launch: one for each of their categories, Outdoor, Sports Timing and Fitness. Timex have built a more significant presence at ispo over recent years and have very positive expectations for 2010. Calvert adds that it's a great opportunity to mix with the whole trade and see what everybody else is doing: "ispo offers Timex an ideal showcase to shout about our key developments and main stories for the year."
In particular, Calvert stresses that Timex expect to see far more ‘buyers' than mere ‘visitors'. This has been their experience in past, when at least two thirds of the people they have seen have been in that category. This is a show where business gets done.
Build worldwide sales
ispo presents a different set of opportunities for Harrod. As manufacturers of goalposts they do not expect to return from Munich with a bulging order book. Rather this is a chance to meet distributors from throughout the world. MD Kevin Utton says that the reputation of British manufacturing remains high in markets such as Singapore and the Middle East and ispo presents them with the chance to meet the right people.
Harrod make all efforts to bring their existing distributors to the stand. They are not however expecting quantity of visitors, but they do get to see quality - as with Timex they see ‘buyers' not ‘visitors'. Interestingly the quality of stand visitors has risen since they stopped having a 24 foot goal on the stand - it attracted people who wanted a photo of themselves as Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, rather than those wanted to buy.
Please refer to Page 10-11 of SGB Outdoor for further information on ispo 2010.
