Back after a two-year break, with a new date and a new size, ISPO Munich 2022 is now over. What was the mood of the exhibitors and visitors? We bring you their reactions.
ISPO 2022 in numbers
After almost three years of absence, ISPO Munich returned this year from Nov. 28 to 30, 2022, at Messe München, featuring 1,700 exhibitors and around 40,000 visitors. Almost 90 percent of the exhibitors came from outside Germany, with over 50 countries represented. Germany, Italy, France, China and Taiwan formed the majority of exhibitors. Around 20 percent of the 1,700 were exhibiting at ISPO Munich for the first time. The new feature hall, Future Lab, hosted more than 70 start-up exhibitors.
This year’s 40,000 visitors included guests from 117 countries, meaning over 73 percent of visitors were international. Germany, Italy, France, the U.K. and Austria provided the top five share of visitors.
ISPO Munich 2022 also included Therapie München and the Runner’s World Symposium. At Therapie München, a total of 107 exhibitors presented products and services related to therapy and medical rehabilitation.
With so much to say about ISPO Munich and the industry, we’ve gathered some of the comments from this year’s event.
ISPO Munich still offers brands unbeatable visibility opportunities
For Laura Youngson, co-founder of female-specific football boots Ida Sports, exhibiting for the first time at ISPO Munich 2022 was an opportunity to expand the brand’s visibility. “We want that boost of publicity in the European market. We’ve had quite a bit of interest already.” With Ida boots currently distributed by Dick’s Sporting Goods in the U.S., the brand hopes ISPO Munich will lead to European interest and distribution opportunities beyond the event.
Also making their debut this year was the Ukrainian camping and apparel brand and ISPO Munich Awards 2022 winner, Turbat. They described ISPO Munich as: “One of the most important fairs there is.” The event, as well as the award, has helped Turbat to increase its visibility as a smaller brand.
Polish-based hammock manufacturers Lesovik – now on their seventh visit to ISPO Munich – shared this sentiment. “Without ISPO Munich, it would not be possible to be in the market position we are in now,” said the sales manager, Konrad Adamczyk. He explained that for small manufacturers with a quality product, ISPO Munich is worth the investment, also allowing for benchmarking against competitor products and for the brand to reaffirm to itself and its existing distributors the quality of its product.
Sebastian Mauritz, COO of German-based sleeping bag and down jacket brand, Grüezi Bag, echoed this sentiment, simply saying: “ISPO Munich is the place to be.”
Post-Covid ISPO
British outdoor equipment suppliers Karrimor are veterans of ISPO Munich, with visits spanning over twenty years. Simon Wilkinson explained that the team was at first skeptical about how the event would look, post-Covid, but admitted to being pleasantly surprised with the turnout, reporting full diaries and lots of drop-in visits. For Wilkinson, the role of ISPO Munich is clear: “As long as the customers come, we will come.”
Rab head of marketing Trudi Boswell also admitted to being skeptical of how a post-Covid ISPO Munich would look but was happy to say of this year’s event: “Our expectations have been surpassed.” Rab reported a busy ISPO Munich with a lot of trade, especially in the Benelux and DACH regions. Overall, according to Boswell, ISPO Munich was “well worth coming back to.”
Nikwax is another established name in the industry, known for its waterproofing products. But Nick Doyle (director of group operations) and Tomek Sepowicz (export sales account manager) see ISPO Munich as an opportunity to broaden market knowledge of Nikwax’s other products. They reported the post-Covid ISPO went “much better than expected. It has been a forum to meet with our business partners,” as well as to open up markets and expand brand collaborations.
Networking possibilities that can’t be beaten
Fjällräven reported “an incredible amount of activity” at its stand. Philipp Kloeters, global communication manager, said: “We had a very open concept this year; we wanted to be a contact point and were very happy with the interest. We’ve already had meetings with the important customers in most cases. Now it was about personal meetings.” He added: “We and our key accounts were very happy to come together again.”
ISPO Awards 2022 winner Pusu, a Finnish wooden ski maker who partners with Spinnova, also looked to ISPO Munich as an opportunity to expand beyond the Finnish market. “ISPO Munich is really good for getting to know suppliers and retailers,” said Ossi Valkonen. “I don’t think you could get this anywhere else.”
In fact, the shift to networking rather than “doing real business” was noticeable at ISPO Munich 2022. “We have noticed that more and more brands are not showcasing products anymore; it’s more about exchange and having meetings,” said Julia Granhed, head of marketing of avalanche rescue system Recco. “We are quite satisfied with ISPO Munich. There were lots of people from non-exhibiting brands that were really worth talking to.”
In this impression, she was not alone. There were a lot of representatives from non-exhibiting brands visiting exhibitors and panel discussions and also having their own meetings at the trade show. A challenging situation for the organizers, for sure.
Smaller ISPO Munich proved to be an advantage for many
Several exhibitors remarked on the show’s smaller size this year but found it has been working to their advantage. French snowshoe manufacturer Evvo has enjoyed this, its third visit to ISPO Munich, and CEO Dr. Hervé Piron commented that ISPO Munich 2022 still provided the same opportunities for connections with distributors and retailers.
Insole manufacturer Dazhou Shoes and Plastics noted that even though the event was smaller than its first visit three years ago, there was greater attendance and higher footfall at the Dazhou stand. Interestingly, general manager Europe Quzhen Deng also pointed out that interest has been much higher this year now that the brand has its own booth rather than a collaborative one.
Likewise, Andreas Schulz, marketing manager at Fidlock, remarked: “On Monday, our booth was so packed, we were standing in the aisles. We are really happy to be at a trade show again.”
Absence of big brands wasn’t seen only negatively
The absence of significant big names didn’t go unremarked, and nearly everybody we talked to mentioned it. For some, it turned out to be positive. Hans Hurenkamp, head of international sales with SUP and watersports equipment brand Jobe, reported that buyers who are normally tied up with bigger brands “had time for us.”
For Max Strandwitz, CEO of MIPS, it was more important than ever to attend ISPO Munich precisely because some of the bigger names were missing: “It is really important that we as an industry unify for these kinds of events.” Strandwitz added: “We have had lots of discussions with our partners. We heard many of our brand partners say they were not coming this year. We said, ‘No, we really need to come.’ That’s also why we threw a party yesterday. Of course, the big brands will manage without the trade shows, but not the smaller ones. For them, the shows are their opportunity.”
Hans Hurenkamp of Jobe echoed this sentiment: “We want to be able to say ‘We were here’ at ISPO Munich during the bad times as well as the good.”
New timing of ISPO Munich
2022 marked the first time for ISPO Munich to take place in November, and this will continue next year with the 2023 event scheduled for Nov. 28 to 30, 2023.
Wolfgang Lagler, brand manager of Swedish specialists in technical clothing, Craft, said: “As Craft closes the preorder in early December, the date is fitting nicely into the season schedule.”
Likewise, Jürgen Siegwarth, strategic consultant at the bike and outdoor bag manufacturer Ortlieb remarked: “Generally speaking, the date is well-chosen and bigger retailers with a buying team are all here, as well as a lot of industry colleagues. What is missing are more of the smaller, family-owned retailers.”
Reto Aeschbacher, CMO of Scott, said: “ISPO Munich marks the start of the winter season this year, and this offers us as a brand the opportunity to revive interest in outdoor and winter sports.” That said, it has to be kept in mind that Scott was the only big winter sports brand at the show, and the ski brands aren’t expected to come back in 2023.
ISPO is more than ever a showcase for innovation
In addition to networking, ISPO as a showcase for innovation was the feeling of many attendees.
I think ISPO Munich can play a rather interesting role in thought leadership, panels and exchange. Although I’m not sure what this means for a possible transformation of the show,” said Chris Blackwood, Gore European marketing leader (consumer fabrics). “Currently our main aim is to communicate our goals around sustainability as well as our new innovations, rather than specifically looking for new customers. This strategy may change from year to year, but ISPO Munich allows us the right platform to communicate these messages”.
The Polygiene team reported a similar experience, with ISPO Munich being the “ideal platform” to launch its ”Polygiene – for mindful living” campaign, according to Ulrika Björk, CEO. “Our booth was packed with people - and the fair has by far exceeded our expectations. We had fantastic and inspiring conversations. Our interactive booth was also very well received, and it was overwhelming to meet people everywhere who could experience our technology.”
Danish outdoor apparel brand Superstainable also made its exhibiting debut at this year’s ISPO Munich. CEO Emil Rasmussen had a different perspective on the event: “We’re here to learn.” Rasmussen, and his brand, had lots to say about the ideas of sustainability, collaboration and the innovative designs on display at this year’s event, but one of the big issues for him is to take the innovation and excitement beyond ISPO Munich and transfer it into the market, because without that, what is ISPO Munich for? He doesn’t just want to see innovation trends at ISPO Munich; he also wants action.
“This year’s ISPO Munich was not only a reunion of the industry in a great atmosphere but has also clearly shown that the market is changing. We will take this into account in the further development of the trade show,” said Tobias Gröber, head of the ISPO Group. “The sporting goods market will remain very relevant, but it will be joined by topics such as sports fashion, tourism, digitization, health and fitness, nutrition and e-sports.” Now the challenge is on ISPO to evolve the concept to the challenging conditions of an ever-changing market.
