BSI, the German association of sporting goods vendors, is looking for alternatives to ISPO Summer, which has been put on hold by Messe München until further notice. As a result of BSI’s annual meeting in Mettmann/Germany on April 17 and 18, the federation noted that some product ranges are represented in a satisfactory way at other shows, e.g. fashionable sportswear at local apparel shows and the outdoor industry at its own show, the OutDoor in Friedrichshafen. Other sports brands, however, especially in the field of hardgoods, have no appropriate platform in the summer to present themselves, according to BSI.
The general assembly of BSI, therefore, proposed to re-activate the trade show Spoga of Cologne as a sports fair in the proper sense of the word. Spoga was founded in 1960 by BSI and the local trade show organizer, Koelnmesse. Over the decades, Spoga lost its importance as a sporting goods show especially to Munich´s ISPO. With 1,547 exhibitors from 56 countries and 27,500 visitors in 2007, Spoga still is an important show in camping, garden and leisure activities. According to BSI, Spoga Horse is still the world´s largest trade fair for horse riding.
The BSI assembly concluded that its management would ask Koelnmesse to provide additional space for sports brands at the next Spoga, which is scheduled to takes place in Cologne from Aug. 31 until Sept. 2. Adalbert von der Osten, BSI’s managing director, told SGI Europe that it might take some time to develop this new project step by step. Von der Osten admitted frankly that the time schedule and the budget might be tight for many brands to attend this year´s edition of the show. But he sees a chance in the long run to give the sports brands a new summer platform. Executives of Messe München said it was still too early to make a comment, but they have already started to think about a new concept for the summer of 2009.
