Starting in 2015, Messe Friedrichshafen and its partner, the European Outdoor Group (EOG), have decided to orient the OutDoor trade show in Germany more around weekdays. Therefore, the 2015 OutDoor will open one day earlier, on Wednesday, July 15 and will end on Saturday July 18. This year’s show will take place as planned from Thursday, July 10 to Sunday, July 13, 2014.
An additional conceptual change under consideration is the idea of opening the OutDoor to consumers on the final day of the show.
“The original show dates were set in times when our industry was different,” said Rolf Schmid, EOG President and CEO of the Mammut Sports Group, explaining the change. “With the ongoing professionalization of the sector in all channels, we strongly believe that a full extra weekday will be beneficial for almost everybody. OutDoor is now globally significant and that comes with a duty to adapt to international business practices.”
“The history of the OutDoor has been characterized by a good increase in visitor numbers which, however, has primarily occurred on weekdays. By starting the show on Wednesday, we are responding to this trend,” said Klaus Wellmann, CEO of Messe Friedrichshafen. The event organizers have also set the date for the 2015 OutDoor one week later than previously planned, to guarantee that the industry meeting always takes place in its well-established time slot in mid-July. “To ensure that as the calendar progresses, the show doesn’t move any closer towards the beginning of the month we have decided to move the OutDoor back one week. This gives our exhibitors, industry visitors and media representatives a reliable basis for their future planning,” explains Stefan Reisinger, head of the OutDoor business area.
Regarding the idea of a public day, including opening the show to consumers on its final day, EOG General Secretary Mark Held explains: “Our partners in Friedrichshafen have successfully proven that a public day works at Eurobike in the bike sector, so we think it is time for us to explore whether the concept might work for our sector. Due to the uniqueness of our market, this will not be an easy task, but we feel comfortable that a dedicated working group can make a recommendation by the summer. This will then allow the EOG to make an informed decision in the interest of the whole sector.”
