Ispo opens Thursday with new record number of exhibitors

By

Bruno Joly

Published
Feb 4, 2015

Ispo is stable like a rock, only changing ever so slowly. And for that reason, the sports trade show is always at full or near full capacity, even though the Munich exhibition center features 16 halls.

For its latest edition, taking place from February 5-8, organizers have announced 2,585 exhibitors, including 86% from abroad. Ispo first crossed the 2,500-exhibitor threshold in January 2014.

As for French participation, through the support mechanism put in place by the Rhône-Alpes Region, Sportaltec and Outdoor Sports Valley, 44 French companies will be exhibiting, including 29 at the "base camp" in Hall A3. 

In terms of major winter sports players, all the heavyweights will be there, including Patagonia, Icebreaker, Columbia, The North Face, Odlo, Oakley, Helly Hansen, Salomon, Rossignol, etc. 

This time, Messe München should be particularly satisfied with the growth of the Outdoor segment, which will welcome 40 new exhibitors, alone totaling a hundred brands, including Lyle & Scott, Kean Kantine and Camelblack. Visitors shoudn't be disoriented however, as all the usual segments will be in place: Outdoor, Sportstyle, Action Sports, Ski, Performance, Ispovision and Health & Fitness, which celebrates its second appearance. 

Some new platforms, however, will be showcased within the usual segments. Ispo Cold Water Surfing, for example, will be centered on high tech surfing equipment. Participants will include Billabong, Finisterre, Fomento Donostia, GlassyPro, Holysports, Patagonia, Rareform, Rip Curl, Seawag, Surflogic, Ocean, O'Neill und Xcel. 

In the sportstyle area, the special exhibit "Wool Street" will focus on wool products. "Ispo is more than a simple trade show. It's become more and more an event that lasts throughout the year," said Klaus Dittrich, CEO of Messe München. 

The show will indeed provide useful tools for the sports community throughout the entire year, including the Ispo Open Innovation platform, which was launched last year and which allows consumers and experts to share ideas in order to determine the product development of certain brands. Among those who have already participated: The North Face and Sportcheck. 

This time, for example, Austrian brand Dachstein has asked the question: "What would make the perfect individual hiking shoe?"