FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN)—About 100 brands will allow dealers to test their new products today in Ratzenried, at the foothills of the Alps in the Allgäu region, marking the start of the five-day Eurobike trade show.
That’s up from about 80 brands last year, said Stefan Reisinger, project manager for Eurobike, which runs through Saturday at the exhibition center on the shores of Lake Constance.
In its third year, Demo Day welcomes several new exhibitors including Bell, Blomson, Colnago, Conway, Easton, Giro, Kenda, Koga, Lazer, Norco, Polar, Skins, Stevens, Vittoria and Ziener.
And with construction completed on two new exhibition halls in Friedrichshafen, Eurobike will host about 70 additional vendors this week at the indoor show. The expansion project added 15,000 square meters (161,458 square feet) of exhibition space, bringing the total indoor area to 100,000 square meters (1,076,391 square feet). The extra space has all but eliminated the usual waiting list of companies hoping to get a booth at the popular show.
“We have more than 1,000 exhibitors this year, which is a new record,” Reisinger said.
Brompton Bicycles, manufacturer of folding bikes in the UK, welcomes the ongoing expansion of the event, said Emerson Roberts, the company’s marketing manager.
It took Roberts three years to secure a space at Eurobike, and even when the company was finally able to get in last year, it was stuck with a tiny stand on the back wall of the last hall.
“For this our second year, we have taken a much bigger space and have been rewarded with a position in Hall B1. We certainly expect the better location, alongside the likes of Jamis, Marin and Lapierre, to drive more casual visitors past our stand, which is critical to raising awareness of our brand both within the trade and among European consumers,” Roberts said.
Belgium-based Lazer helmets will have two booths at the indoor show this year due to significant growth experienced by the company. One will be through its German distributor where Lazer will display its entire range of 2010 products, and another will be set up in hall A7 with Ridley and Bio-Racer.
“I think Eurobike is for us one of the most important shows and it’s not going down in investment for sure. It’s getting bigger and bigger,” said Sean van Waes, vice president of Lazer’s bicycle division.
Eurobike remains the leading international tradeshow, Reisinger said. “I think people all around the world realize it’s the most important show. It’s like a magnet. If it’s successful more and more companies try to get space here,” Reisinger said.
Eurobike hosted a record 35,000 trade visitors last year, and slightly shifted the days of the show this year to better appeal to the trade. This year, the trade-only portion is Wednesday through Friday. The show will open to the public on Saturday. In the past the trade portion has ended on Saturday, with the public day on Sunday. This change was made to give the trade one more business day, Reisinger said.
—Nicole Formosa
