As one show finishes, preparations are under way for the next. Following the 25th Eurobike industry trade show in Friedrichshafen, southern Germany, the Eurobike team has announced changes to forthcoming editions of the show.
In addition to next year’s Eurobike 2017 dates and schedule (Wednesday 30 August to Saturday, 2 September 2017 – a concluding Festival Day), Messe Friedrichshafen has announced the new dates for Eurobike 2018 – which kicks off on Sunday 8 July 2018. Whether Eurobike 2018 runs for three or four days at Lake Constance will be decided nearer the time, together with exhibitors. From 2018, Eurobike moves forward to take place earlier in the year and will focus exclusively on trade visitors.
“The bike market is enjoying great dynamism and seeing numerous changes to the value chain,” explained Klaus Wellmann, CEO at Messe Friedrichshafen. “By taking place earlier in the year Eurobike will be even more relevant and strengthen its position as the leading trade show for new trends and innovations. The new dates and schedule have the backing of a large number of industry players and require sufficient advance notice to ensure secure planning for all parties.”
Head of Eurobike, Stefan Reisinger added “Numerous conversations with manufacturers, including both exhibitors and non-exhibitors, retailers and the media have made it increasingly clear that further defragmentation of the industry into separate in-house exhibitions and order shows is neither long-term, nor sustainable.
“Looking down the road, we are changing the future Eurobike in two stages, adjusting the gears to strengthen its position as an innovation driver for the international bicycle industry.”
Eurobike 2017 (B2B & B2C – new Eurobike Media Days at Kronplatz in South Tyrol)
The four-day schedule for the 2017 Eurobike show starts on Wednesday 30 August 2017 and runs for three days focusing, as usual, on business-to-business with a subsequent Festival event. Day one on Saturday 2 September, will present the most popular topics from 2016 to all cycling enthusiasts.
“By shortening the show, there will no longer be the choice of two booking options. In addition, Eurobike 2017 will once again benefit from a large number of test opportunities along the B wing,” said Eurobike Project Manager Dirk Heidrich.
The third Eurobike Media Days event will ride out from a new location next year. The media test event takes place from 27-29 June 2017 at Kronplatz in the Eurobike partner region of South Tyrol. It offers all sport-orientated Eurobike bicycle manufacturers an early opportunity to ‘present innovations for 2018 to the most important international media publications and websites in the magnificent, exclusive and sunny Dolomites.’
The 2016 Eurobike Media Days formula recently saw 210 selected media representatives from 20 countries meet 27 brands.
Eurobike 2018 (starting out in July)
The new show dates for 2018 (starting on Sunday 8 July) are a further major change to the Eurobike concept. Whether the event runs for three or four days remains to be clarified nearer the time in consultation with exhibitors. In addition, it has been decided to focus Eurobike solely on industry visitors from 2018 with the earlier dates.
Susanne Puello, Managing Director of Winora Group, supports the move. She said “The Winora Group welcomes the decision to bring Eurobike forward in 2018 and will be exhibiting its full brand portfolio with a major presence. Haibike, the global leader of ePerformance bikes will also be attending Eurobike 2017.”
Claudio Marra, Managing Director FSA added, “We strongly believe that it is necessary to bring the show forward to an earlier date. September is too late for our business timetable. New bikes and components are already available or have been covered by other events and media. As a result, we miss out on the original nature of Eurobike, to present new product innovations. We are a big fan of the new changes and are only too happy to support them.”
“We urge others to use Lake Constance as an international platform to premiere new innovations at the leading trade show,” emphasized CEO Messe Friedrichshafen Klaus Wellmann. “The future earlier Eurobike dates for 2018 are a chance to again bring together more relevant market players. This has been echoed in many of the talks that we’ve conducted.”
From 2018, Eurobike will have an exclusively B2B focus, so there will be no addressing end consumers from that year. Stefan Reisinger at Eurobike said, “By announcing the new 2018 dates now, we’re giving the bicycle industry the chance to orientate itself, providing planning security and the required advance notice to readjust and regroup for the significantly earlier future Eurobike dates.
“We are aware that this might prove a challenge for certain market players. However, we’re creating the conditions for the industry to present itself in a more unified fashion at the Eurobike show in future. As such, we continue to provide the right platform to encourage synergies for industry, retail and the media.
In order to overcome what are being referred to as ‘present challenges’, VDZ, the German bicycle retail association (Verband des Deutschen Zweiradhandels) has called to bring together the industry’s forces at one location.
Chairman of the VDZ board Dietmar Knust and member of the executive board Tobias Hempelmann jointly explained, “There seems to be an unending flow of trade shows for retailers. From July through to September, retailers can literally spend the entire time travelling the length and breadth of Germany, visiting dozens of these in-house shows which are generally more like events. Few retailers have the time – let alone the personnel – to do this during the season.
“The large number of in-house shows and Eurobike absentees is damaging the industry as a whole. Other industries are only too envious of our central, major trade show. This is why the VDZ is unequivocally in favour of bringing together the industry’s forces at Eurobike. Having one show location guarantees a full overview of the industry’s new products.”
