Trade show news

OutDoor show focus on women

More and more women are taking to the great outdoors these days: over 5-m female Nordic walkers have picked up their poles and are contributing to healthy sales in the sector. Everything is geared to OutDoor Women as potential customers: from the new collections of women’s clothing, to fashionable backpacks and female-friendly sleeping bags — even the new sleeping mats are specially designed with women in mind.

EOG Secretary General, Mark Held, is convinced that women have long played a key role in outdoor issues.

OutDoor Women, this year’s special OutDoor show created by Cologne’s EHI (Eurohandelsinstitut), focuses on retail store design and visual merchandising. Display proposals will be presented showing how women can still be in fashion while mountaineering, and how specialist dealers can support female customers by providing choices that offer style and character.

The OutDoor Friedrichshafen show sets the pace on an international level, with 79% international companies among the 660 exhibitors from 40 different countries. They will contribute to this gigantic outdoor event with 29,500m2 (a new record) of display space. Nearly 100 top industry brands will be represented exclusively in Friedrichshafen.

Presented for the first time this year, the OutDoor Industry Award recognises products that combine innovative outdoor technology with high functional and design quality. This competition is open to all outdoor industry companies.

Winners will be announced on Sunday, 23 July 2006 and the award-winning entries will be displayed in the Foyer West area at the OutDoor trade fair.

On the first day of the exhibition, the European OutDoor Group (EOG) will launch a new initiative that focuses on the protection of nature and the environment.

Classics in the trade fair’s supporting programme — the Fashion Show, Tent City, Climbing Wall, OutDoor Party — are important meeting points for trade visitors. Climbing competitions like the OutDoor Speed Cup in Hall B2 provide plenty of excitement and variety. This is where suppliers for alpine disciplines, ranging from mountaineering and rock-climbing, to ice-climbing and expeditions come together. The focal point is a climbing wall where exhibitors and trade visitors can test their skills.

Tent City offers trade visitors a complete market overview of more than 700 tents of every brand and style that will be on display by 42 manufacturers.

The OutDoor Fashion Show is presented three times daily by brands like adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Salomon and VAUDE.