It is a time of change. After a long break, the major events Eurobike and IAA took place a few weeks ago. As nice as it was for the majority of the visitors at the fairs to meet colleagues and customers again, it was also clear that these fairs still have to change and will change. The importance and appreciation of a leading bicycle fair became clear, but also the need to stage such a leading fair even more effectively and attractively. But what should such a trade fair concept look like? What do the participants of the market actually want? Together with Albert Herresthal's cycle industry information service, we asked what a leading trade fair for bicycles should look like in the future. Responses show that the industry is thinking intensively about how bicycles can be presented optimally in the future and how important a leading trade fair can be for this. One of the exciting observations this year were the different concepts and thematic orientations of the IAA and Eurobike Show. While some wanted to represent the complete range of current forms of mobility from e-scooters to cars and air taxis, others clearly focused on bicycles, no cars. We asked whether it was appropriate to focus on bicycles and e-bikes, or whether the mobility changes taking place should also be reflected in a leading bicycle fair. The answers could hardly be more varied.
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Improvements welcome
The one thing is the evaluation of where there is still a need for action, the other are possible solutions. In the survey visitors were also asked to make specific suggestions for improvements to the Eurobike Show. This shows that different points are emphasised depending on the interests at hand. There is a universal wish to see more bicycle manufacturers at the Show again. For retailers, the presence of the major manufacturers plays an important role (...)
Dirk Zedler, Zedler Institut für Fahrradtechnik und -Sicherheit, is quite self-critical of the patchy participation, especially in the last edition at Lake Constance: “Many exhibitors were absent, for us a clearly wrong sign. It's a pity, we should have reacted and set up our own booth. Our schedule of appointments was super pleasing, the Show as a communication place worked fully.
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Author: Daniel Hrkac
