HangOut area at OutDoor 2018 with over 20 exhibitors
The appeal of outdoor activities is often associated with taking it easy and slowing down – something repeatedly highlighted in surveys. The HangOut area at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen demonstrates deceleration in an exemplary manner. A calm oasis in a busy trade fair, it also showcases important outdoor trends for retailers. Over 20 brands are exhibiting in the HangOut area with products, activities, challenges and discussions to further enhance the outdoor experience at Europe’s biggest outdoor trade show, from 17 – 20 June 2018 at Lake Constance.
“We introduced the HangOut area as a new Outdoor Plus theme last year. It was so well received that we’ve expanded it for the 25th OutDoor. This is an important outdoor retail topic in its own right. As such, HangOut is far more than just a rest zone,” explains OutDoor project manager Dirk Heidrich. HangOut themes are an effective way to build customer loyalty – an important aspect for bricks-and-mortar traders in these times of anonymous online bargain hunting. HangOut-initiator Martin Kössler puts it like this: “It’s all about getting together. Spending time and sharing experiences with old and new friends is an activity in itself, especially if it involves eating and sleeping outdoors.” But HangOut at the OutDoor in Friedrichshafen is more than just a friendly get together. “Engaging visitors in activities will inspire both buyers and exhibitors”, says Martin Kössler.
Smaller firms and Start-Ups benefit particularly from using the HangOut area to exhibit. Hoi Outdoor, a small Lichtensteinian-American outfit, sees HangOut as “the perfect opportunity” to start out at the OutDoor fair. Owner Elisabeth Schaedler, who manufactures and distributes hammocks, enthuses: “HangOut is the right place at the right time for us to debut at a trade show.” Hammocks are big in America, but still remain pretty marginal in Europe. This is something that could change with HangOut. Her hammocks will be on hand to test in the open air exhibition grounds during the show. Along with exhibiting what might be the most stable and largest hammock available, she is also showing an innovative attachment system. Using robust webbing, instead of ropes, the strap sets are quick and easy to adjust and span up to ten metres.
Fyro is also enjoying its trade fair premiere. The German start-up company is presenting the first wood burning stove that burns with a powerful and clean flame with virtually no smoke. It is as adjustable as a gas stove and can also burn biomass. The Fyro stove is now a fully functional, patent-pending prototype. Exhibiting at OutDoor coincides with the start of their crowdfunding campaign. Dieter Weber, one of founders, sees the HangOut area as ideal: “It gives us four days to demonstrate our stove by grilling, frying, steaming – as well as the chance to explain the innovative physics behind it.”
“Being outdoors” is also an important criterion for Netherlanders, Waka Waka. “We’re a big fan of the HangOut concept, and not just because, as a solar company, we like being out in the sun,” emphasises Global Sales Manager Alexander de Gaay Fortman. Waka Waka is presenting a new solar charging station at the OutDoor and has set itself the mission of bringing light to the world: “If African children have to sit in the dark when the sun goes down after 18:00, they have no light to do their homework. This means they learn less. Education is crucial for development,” he explains. Waka Waka is working with partner schools in African countries to provide “light lending libraries” so that every child can have access to a durable and effective solar lamp. These lamps are identical to the models sold in European outdoor shops, which finance the project.
Water purification and filtration is also a HangOut theme. American firm Grayl is attending the OutDoor to present “The world’s best water purifier” for the first time in Europe, says Gary Sukovaty, Head of Sales. He sees the Grayl Filter as a game changer thanks to its triple filtration. It filters viruses, bacteria, protozoa, particulates and even chemical and heavy metals to provide clean drinking water in just 15 seconds.
The 25th OutDoor jubilee edition show takes place from Sunday 17 to Wednesday 20 June 2018 and is open to trade visitors only (with the exception of the German Bouldering Championships on 16/17 June in Hall B5 and the Midsummer Festival at the lakeside promenade).
INFO: OutDoor show
