FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, GERMANY (BRAIN)—Eurobike is again revamping its trade show dates for 2010. Eurobike’s Demo Day is Tuesday, Aug. 31, with the show running from Sept. 1 through Sept. 4.
This is the second shift in dates in a month. Last month Eurobike officials said the show would move up on the calendar with Demo Day set for Aug. 24. The next four days would be set aside for the show itself, ending Aug. 28.
Eurobike’s Wolfgang Kohle said that many exhibitors expressed concern over the earlier dates. “It has become clear that it would be preferable to hold the show in early September rather than in August,” he said.
This year Eurobike ran from Sept. 1 through Sept. 5, setting records for attendance and exhibitors. “This was the best Eurobike yet,” said Klaus Wellman, Messe Friedreichshafen’s chief executive officer.
Show organizers said more than 39,000 trade visitors attended as well as another 21,000 paying consumers who came on Saturday to see the industry’s finest products. The convention center’s 14 halls plus the nearby Zeppelin hangar housed 1,028 exhibitors from 42 countries.
Despite a record show, Eurobike remains wary of organizers in Munich who hosted their first Bike Expo in late July. While a number of companies exhibited at Bike Expo, it was a command performance for those that supply Z.E.G., Germany’s largest retail buying group. Z.E.G., with 1,000 members, controls about $2 billion in annual sales. Members include a variety of big-box and multi-store operations in Germany.
Bike Expo officials also hosted some key Taiwanese companies, pointing out the large halls, ample hotel rooms, and the ease of transportation into and around Munich.
—Marc Sani
