ISPO MUNICH 2015 once again validated its position as the leading international exhibition for the sports industry. It is and remains the world’s most important platform for the sports business. Close to 80,000 visiting professionals from more than 100 countries came to ISPO MUNICH from February 5 to 8; this further proves the exhibition’s high popularity. ISPO MUNICH is a forum, trend barometer and signal setter for the industry: retailers and manufacturers emphasized how important it is to cooperate on a response to the changing climate conditions. At ISPO MUNICH members of the EU Commission announced plans to launch the first ever Europe-wide Week of Sports this fall.
Particularly in the Outdoor and Health & Fitness segments the international leading exhibition experienced enormous growth. The new trend topics “Health & Fitness” as well as “Wearable Technologies” reflect the spirit of the times and set new standards for the world of sports. Klaus Dittrich, Chairman of the Management of Messe München GmbH, explains: “Health & Fitness is an important growth market. Since last year we have dedicated an entire exhibit hall to this trend to take into account the growing health consciousness in our society. This creates new potential for the sports industry. The extremely positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors shows that we have made the right decision.”
The organizers were very pleased with the increasing numbers of visitors from China, Turkey, Spain, Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as the USA.
For four days 2,585 exhibitors presented innovative sports equipment and sportswear fashions on 104,940 square meters of exhibit space. Visitors praised the international character of the exhibitors. In a poll around 75 percent rated ISPO MUNICH excellent to very good, another 24 percent ranked the event as good. The majority expressed their belief that the exhibition will once again gain even more importance in the coming twelve months.
The redesigned ISPO BRANDNEW VILLAGE was very well received. It featured an exhibit with the best newcomer products honored with the ISPO BRANDNEW AWARD.
Representatives of the EU Commission came to ISPO MUNICH upon invitation by the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI). Plans include the launch of a Europe-wide Week of Sports, highlighting the increasing health consciousness in our society.
At ISPO MUNICH retailers and manufactures discussed their options to react to climate change and changing consumer behavior. They goal is to become more flexible and jointly determine the best possible seasonal launch times to better adjust the timing of winter sports product sales to actual winter weather conditions.
