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ISPO 2011 hits visitor high
2011 is record-breaking year for ISPO with 25 per cent increase in visitor numbers over 2010; biggest year in 71-show history
ISPO 2011 attracted over 80,000 visitors from 106 countries, setting a new visitor record for the 40-year-old event.
Organiser Messe München said visitor numbers were up 25 per cent on 2010, the biggest year-on-year increase in the show’s history.
A strong number of new visitors came from home nation Germany, but there were also notable increases in visitors from Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, the Russian Federation, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Norway and the USA.
In fact, 67 per cent of visitors and 84 per cent of exhibitors, whose number increased by 200 to 2,267, were from overseas.
Messe München added that exhibition space grew 13 per cent compared to last year, and the show extended to cover the entire New Munich Trade Fair Centre.
Klaus Dittrich, chairman and chief executive officer of Messe München, said “ISPO has exceeded all our expectations. In particular the sensational increase in visitor numbers proves the extraordinary significance of ISPO in the international sports business.
“Thanks to these results our outlook for the future is positive; a future in which we will network expertise from around the world all year long, and actively endorse developments and trends in the sports business.”
Positive endorsements for ISPO 2011 came from across the show, which included performance, outdoor, ski and snowboard exhibitors.
Timo Schmidt-Eisenhart, vice president and general manager of The North Face in the EMEA region, said: “ISPO 2011 was a very successful trade show for us, maybe even the best trade show of all time.
“Our booth was always crowded with people and we were able to make a number of new contacts from all over the world. The atmosphere in the exhibit halls is really positive. It looks like the sporting goods industry has reached a new level.”
Peter Kappler, general manager at Jet Set, said: “After 15 years this is the first time we’ve returned to ISPO. Our expectations were exceeded by a high margin.”
Christian Scheffold, general manager of Skins, said: “This year, ISPO once again validated its role as the international leading platform for the sports business. All our top customers came to our booth and we received very positive feedback. We were pleased to see that the topics of compression and healthstyle are no longer relegated to a niche, but customers have begun to understand and accept them. And since ISPO is a very successful barometer for the season, we believe that there is a lot of future potential.”
Giancarlo Zanatta, president of the Tecnica Group, said: “The visitor frequency was very good and there was a visible increase in visitors compared to last year. This trade show is a genuine reference tool for the Tecnica Group; therefore we increased our presence. This certainly is the world’s platform.”
ISPO 2012 will be held from January 29 to February 1, 2012 at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre.
See a selection of images taken by SGB Sports here.
