While admitting that some adjustments will be necessary to optimize this first international consumer-oriented project in the outdoor segment, the organizers of OutdoorDays in the northern Italian resort of Riva del Garda feel that it is going to become a reference on a European level after its first edition, which ran on May 23-25. Its Outdoor Village, which hosted 116 exhibitors, attracted nearly 10,000 visitors, mostly Italian, but there were also some foreigners, mainly from neighboring Germany and Austria.
They and many others participated in many collateral product demonstrations and other outdoor-related events, particularly in climbing, mountain biking and canyoning, taking advantage of the peculiar nature of surrounding territory. Some 40 different sports associations contributed more than 200 volunteers, along with various other institutions.
The exhibitors in the Outdoor Village included Asolo, Ferrino and all the other 18 members of the Italian Outdoor Group, which represent 50 different brands, with the exception of Grivel, Lafuma and The North Face. Salewa and other members of Assosport also participated in the event along with Décathlon’s Quechua brand and numerous sports associations and tour operators. The outdoor companies, which showed their Spring/Summer 2008 collections, appreciated the opportunity to meet some specialized retailers, especially from the region, and to get feedback from consumers.
The new sports fest coincided with the start of the Giro d’Italia bike race in nearby Verona and with a special edition of the annual Surfestival (sic) on Lake Garda, which has been going on annually since 2003 except for last year. This windsurfing festival attracted up to 47 exhibitors and 30,000 visitors and participants at its peak, but a lot fewer showed up this time. The exhibitors included this time Camaro and about 20 other surf-related companies. More are expected to show at a new edition of the Surfestival next Sept. 5-7, where they will have the opportunity to show new products for Spring/Summer 2009 that will be interest also for retailers.
Two other sports fests competed with each other further south in Italy the weekend before. The city of Rimini, which previously hosted the famous Fitness Festival, showcased the third edition of a similar fair, called RiminiWellness, and reported a total of 130,029 visitors, or 30 percent more than in 2007. A total of 330 companies were represented at the show, including Technogym and most of the other major suppliers of commercial fitness equipment.
Organized by Gabriele Brustenghi and his family, the simultaneous 20th Fitness Festival in Florence claimed a total of 290,000 visitors, less than the targeted audience of 400,000 daily visits. Working on the basis of corporate sponsorships, it saw the participation of fewer sports firms including Diadora and Mizuno, which didn’t show any products. A former executive of Ellesse and a former importer of Weider, L.A. Gear and other brands, Brustenghi has split from his former partner, Andrea Lato. He has begun to organize fitness festivals in other Italian cities such as Turin and Rome.
Striding, Pilates and sports dance were quite obviously the fitness activities that showed the biggest growth in interest at both events.
