2018 marks the OutDoor trade fair’s 25th anniversary, and Messe Friedrichshafen is celebrating with a Retail First Initiative, a new measures to support outdoor retailers and the industry. Also new in 2018 the OutDoor team has announced that there will be an updated invitation process for trade visitors and additional accommodation for retailers – directly on the showground. The 25th European outdoor trade show takes place in Friedrichshafen from June 17 to 20, 2018.
The new Retail First Initiative places outdoor retail right at the heart of the show’s overall concept, said show organizers. Program content, accreditation and tickets and accommodation have all been overhauled to allow retailers to benefit from a number of advantages during their visit to the OutDoor show. For example, the popular ERIBA City caravans directly on the showground and just a short distance from the halls. In future, the OutDoor team is reserving a large number of caravans exclusively for retailers and their employees, which can also be booked for one night only.
“We’ve expanded the ERIBA City to offer more affordable accommodation that fits the outdoor atmosphere. And we’re giving retailers first priority,” explains Stefan Reisinger, Head of OutDoor.
The show’s outdoor visitor invitation system and entry prices are also being revamped.
“By inviting specialist retailers centrally via the OutDoor team, we plan to strengthen links to our most important group of customers and encourage attendance by directly offering free tickets specifically to individual retailers. In addition, we will be adjusting prices upwards for all other trade visitors outside of this core target audience,” explains Reisinger.
In future, the OutDoor intends to further improve its program of content for retailers, such as new OutDoor Plus themes – Lifestyle Collection, HangOut, Water Sports and Running, which all proved very popular in 2017, said Messe Friedrichshafen. These areas are going to be extended to provide more in-depth information in 2018.
“We want to go deeper and further explore each of these OutDoor Plus segments to offer visitors significant additional added benefit and value, on top of their core outdoor business,” added OutDoor Project Manager, Dirk Heidrich.
