The first edition of the European Shoeshow (12th till 13th March) at the XPost in Cologne ended on Monday and left some unsatisfied exhibitors behind.
Joaquim Costa, Sales Manager, Poelman BV: “The customers didn’t accept the tradeshow. March is actually a good time, but we had hardly any customers coming and people have to be open and also release some budget.”
Pieter Gommans, Tango: “There is not much going on and this tradeshow is disappointing for me.”
“I was expecting something totally different. The location, the atmosphere that has nothing inspirational – the feeling here is more like a working fair and there are no visitors. At the moment I don’t think that we will be joining the next edition in September", says Jorge Hernandez, Sales and Marketing Director at Art.
Ralf Grossmann, Managing Director Dockers: “The frequency is very subdued but even though there is not a large number of visitors we already had very good clients like TK Maxx or Siemes Schuhcenter at our booth.”
“I like the location but to be honest I am not very surprised that there is not much frequency, it was apparent that this would happen. The whole trade show landscape has to think about a new concept. We have to determine a date. In my opinion, February is too early and March is a much better time for a tradeshow. Retailers and buyers have a much better feeling which products go well, but with the early date of GDS for example this makes it much more difficult", stated Andreas Neuhaus from Wrangler.
Darius Herges from the Orderlounge Fashion GmbH (representing brands like Date and Blauer USA): “It could have been worse. I think it is too bad that the organizers couldn’t transmit the atmosphere that they created downstairs for the design attack area for the rest of the location.”
In fact the Design Attack area downstairs stood in contrast to the rest of the location. In a cool and urban brickwall atmosphere brands like Fred Perry, Superga or Matchless showcased their collection. But the low frequency was also a topic in this area.
Some exhibitors also criticized that the title 'European Shoeshow' was a bit exaggerated due to the fact that there were mostly brands from Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands that were exhibiting. “We really don’t need another regional shoe trade fair. We need a trade show with an international flair”, says Patrick Vanneste from Cycleur de Luxe.
Despite the ambivalent atmosphere at the trade show there were of course trends we have spotted:
Extra big loops & laces
Scandinavian retro chic
Fur
Extra thick soles
Velvet
Also read:
For more information on trade shows check out DFV Group’s expocheck.com.
