The new-format Ispo Sport & Style attracted a total of about 17,500 visitors coming through its turnstiles, down from 19,000 a year ago. The biggest drop occurred with non-German visitors as their ratio declined from 60 to 49 percent of the total. There were, however, many retailers and distributors from the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, some of whom were looking for new sports brands to represent. There were also quite a few recruiters and equity investment consultants, as the fair continues to act as an international meeting point for the sporting goods industry.
Italians represented the biggest contingent of visitors after the Germans, followed by visitors from the USA, Switzerland, Austria, France, China, India, Pakistan and Taiwan. The show hosted 821 exhibitors on 63,000 square meters in the Northern part of the fairgrounds, where smaller fairs like Golf Europe usually take place.
Even before the show started, visitors’ pre-registrations were down by 9 percent from a year ago, but many new buyers came over from two other small fashion fairs – one for menswear and the other one for jeanswear - that were taking place almost simultaneously in Munich. In fact, the “style” segment of Ispo Sport & Style fared much better than the “sport” segment, according to the exhibitors. The proportion of buyers from the fashion circuit increased to almost 40 percent from less than 15 percent a year ago.
The organizers say they are determined to continue to hold a sports-related event in the summer for at least three more years, further refining its concept. They feel that Munich has a role to play in both sports and fashion as an alternative to Bread & Butter, which is more jeans-based and more oriented toward Southern Europe (see related News Brief). It is also less of a working show.
