From an early stage, ispo has taken great pride in supporting newcomers and visions. To reduce a tradeshow to its essence, it is all about innovation. Consumer behavior encourages this focus and demands for a never-ending supply of new products, brands and ideas. To reduce the gap between less-known brands and retailers, ispo established several newcomer platforms integrated in the individual tradeshow segments.
- BrandNew: World’s largest start-up competition for the sporting goods industry - NewBiz: Former BrandNew participants on their way to success - ispo Newcomers: innovative, young or little-known unknown brands with fresh ideas and products - Wearable Technologies: Sport meets new technology
4th VOLVO SportsDesign AWARD - nominess have been selected
EcoDesign is a new and difficult topic in the sports industry. Thus we were surprised to receive such a high number of applications. All together the jury members had to judge 180 products in 7 categories.
The jury was hand-picked based upon their knowledge in the specific
categories and industry. Some experienced jury members from the past,
who are exerts in design or sports were once again part of the jury.
Furthermore specialists from the ecological field completed the jury.
After a full day of judging, the environmental and design experts came
to the conclusion: "There are many good and interesting approaches in
the sports industry and there is a high potential for the future."
All together 37 nominees were chosen in 7 categories. The winners will
be announced during the award ceremony on Tuesday, 29th of January 2008
in Munich. >> see the nominations
For more information, exact timetable ant tickets for the conference please see ww.ispo-sportsdesign.com
ispo Best Ager puts the spotlight on 50+
The Best Ager target group has gained an increasing degree of attention within the sporting goods industry; as was reflected by the extremely positive response of visitors to the third ispo Best Ager Gallery at ispo winter 08. The platform offers the sports industry a unique opportunity to market its products and services for this strongly growing target group.
“The ispo Best Ager
initiative is a promising start. The tapping of this target group is a great
opportunity and the initiative is a very useful networking platform to do so,”
says Klaus Jost, Chairman Purchasing, Sales, Marketing at Intersport. The
detailed market and target group data were extremely well received. Many were
still surprised by the impact of the active over-fifty population on the sports
market. The interest in the Best Ager sports market study proved that there is
yet a large necessity for more information on this topic. The exhibitors who
are already taking advantage of this platform were very pleased. “We took
part in this ispo initiative, since Odlo has already been targeting Best Agers
with Nordic Walking. The concept illuminates this very interesting retail target
group very well and provides interesting aspects of their requirements. We
received a lot of positive feedback from the media,” says an enthusiastic
Brigitte Amherd, PR Manager Odlo International.
Just as positive was the
response from Alfred Prenn, Chairman of the Tourism Association Hochpustertal
South Tyrol: “We are very pleased with the inclusion of the Best Ager platform
into the ispo, because it provides us with a number of opportunities to expand
our network with the help of new sports cooperation partners. For a tourism
destination like us with many Best Ager visitors, sport activities are very
important. This makes cooperation very worthwhile for us as well as for the
sports industry.”
Wearable Technologies – trailblazing platform for market-ready products
The Wearable Technologies Show by the leader in global sporting goods trade shows, ispo, once again presented a unique platform for the marketing of new technology in the sports and lifestyle sector. On 250 square meters approximately 20 exhibitors presented their technological product innovations.
The list of participating exhibitors included innovative newcomers such as
Texsys, Sunload, or Polygiene, renowned apparel companies such as Falke ,
Quiksilver, or Swany, industry giants such as 3M, Bluetooth, and Sefar, as well
as leading semi-conductor manufacturer Analog Devices.
The organizers
were very pleased with the fact that this special show not only functioned as a
networking event, but that a number of participants brought market-ready
innovations and strong partners from the apparel industry to this year’s show,
while last year most of them presented only prototypes. Entrak, for example,
integrated its Personal Cooling System into a motorcycle jacket now sold by
Lodenfrey. Sefar cooperated with Falke to produce a heated kidney warmer.
Further, the communication glove by Texsys has gone into production under the
Swany brand. This means that Wearable Technologies not only has become an
established, successful exhibition space, but evolved into a genuine market
place bringing together electronic/technology/systems with sports and apparel.
The trends for this winter included temperature regulating apparel
(heating and cooling), motion sensors to analyze body functions, odor-absorbing
apparel, navigation and tracking, as well as the use of recycled fibers. Product
highlights include the new video jacket by Texsys with a button camera
integrated into the collar, or the badira multi-media jacket with integrated TV
set.
The first participation of Bluetooth SIG – Bluetooth Special
Interest Group (SIG), a not-for-profit association whose members endorse the
development of Bluetooth wireless technology as well as implement and market
this technology in their products, is certainly significant. At the Wearable
Technologies Show the association was able to promote “ultra low power
Bluetooth”, a standard for rapid and energy-saving transmissions for sports
market applications. The new standard will spawn a number of new applications
for watches and sensors, as well for cell phones. In addition, the SIG held a
panel discussion together with representatives of Polar, Nokia, Nordic
Semiconductors, Bluetooth, and Texsys.
The informative presentations
“Wearable Technologies & Motion Sensors – new trends in the application of
motion sensors in sports”, “Navigation in the WT Market – an indispensable trend
for retail” and “Green WT – ecologically-correct WT products”.
We are
already excited to find out which one of the participants will introduce a
market-ready WT product with a competent partner at the upcoming Wearable
Technologies Show.
Record number of entries and happy winners at Volvo SportsDesign Awards 2008
The long wait was worth it – last Tuesday the ICM Munich hosted the award ceremony for the 4th Volvo SportsDesign Awards 2008 at the Volvo SportsDesign FORUM. The coveted international design award under the motto “EcoDesign – Form follows Sustainability” was presented to entries from France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Sweden, and the U.S.A.
More than 300 renowned international
companies and designers sent in their innovative EcoDesign concepts entries for
a chance at this most important SportsDesign award. Speaking for the jury,
Andrej Kupetz, General Manager of Rat für Formgebung, praised the “for a
sporting goods design award unusual variety of projects and international
character of the entries. The sporting goods industry has advanced a step from
an ecological point of view. The message of EcoDesign was understood. In the
future ecology and design will have an even more important role in the agenda of
designers and the industry.”
An international jury met on January 8th,
08 at the idyllic Gut Herrmannsdorf near Munich to select 35 nominees in seven
award categories as well as the favorites. The experts used the following
criteria to judge the entries for ecological and sustainable design:
functionality, design, degree of innovation, ergonomics, form and manufacturing,
material, production, distribution, product lifecycle, recycling, and
application.
The winners of the Volvo SportsDesign Awards 2008
“EcoDesign”
Category Outdoor Equipment Manufacturer: Nextec srl., Produkt: OutDry® membrane system to keep footwear
dry, Italy Category Ski Equipment Manufacturer: Grown
Skis, Product: wooden skis, Germany Category Board
Equipment Manufacturer: Amer-Salomon, Produkt: Salomon Snowboards,
SickStick, France Category Apparel Manufacturer:
Klättermusen, Product: Einride Jacket, Sweden Category
Wheelers Manufacturer: Essedum, Product: CycleCaddy cart, Germany
Category Accessories Manufacturer: Plantaplast,
Product: BioGolfTee, Austria Category Concepts Max
Koriath, “schöner bootfahren” (“better boating”), Weissensee School of Art
Berlin, Germany Category Special “EcoBrand of the
Year”: Patagonia, USA
The jury of the 17th ispo BrandNew Awards faced a tough challenge this year. 261 entries from 26 countries represented about 13 percent more products than last year, which is a new record. Among the entries were a multitude of products with eco-friendly characteristics as well as accessories. For the first time ever, consumers had the chance to influence the selection of winners by voting online for their favorites. Following tests, demonstrations, analyses and in-depth discussions among the jury, the 31 finalists and eight winners were finally selected:
"Advansa® Overall Award: Quantya® FMX Dirtbike" A powerfully accelerating
dirtbike made in Switzerland – without exhaust. After a two-hour charge with
energy from an electrical outlet the bike has enough power to spend 3 hours on a
Motocross trail. Quiet, no exhaust fumes, yet incredibly powerful. The bike
should be approved for road use in 2008. www.quantya.eu
"YKK® Hardware Summer Award: Hillracer Cross®" A go-cart-like summer
sled is guided via weight shifting and foot control and also offers plenty of
safety features: wheels will not roll backwards, with hydraulic brakes, and an
inertia brake. With the help of a special bar the Hillracer can be transported
uphill on t-bar lifts. The summer sled is TÜV tested and certified. www.sports-tech.de
"DuPont Hardware Winter Award: Ski Mojo" Ski-Mojo from Great Britain
applies shock absorbers to skiing. Out of sight under the ski pants a
spring-loaded “arm” is mounted between the ski boot and the lower part of the
thigh. It reduces the load on quadriceps and knees. The model features a
selection switch for “Walk” and “Ski” mode. www.ski-mojo.com
"Coolmax® Sportswear Award: ion-mask™" Extremely water-repellant
ion- mask™ coating keeps feet dry – even if submerged in water. With the help of
ionized gases – also called “plasma” – footwear and apparel is coated with an
extremely thin layer of the material. P2i in Oxford developed the technology.
www.p2ilabs.com
"Creora® Style Award: Eleonore de Ruuk" Eleonore de Ruuk knows how
to integrate hoods everywhere in her collection, no matter whether in dresses,
belts, or even backpacks. The mix of street wear and fashion is cleverly
accomplished; yet wear comfort is never sacrificed. www.eleonorederuuk.com
"Nilit® Style Accessories Award: Nat-2™" Women’s hearts beat faster
when they see the new 2-in-1 shoes by Nat-2. A zipper on the sole quickly turns
a trendy sneaker into a summer slide, and vice versa. www.nat-2.eu
"YKK® Hardware Accessories Award: Snowpulse" The new avalanche
airbag rescue system is available either with a backpack or can be integrated
into one. The air-based system is activated with the pull of a strap, and within
seconds the user’s head and neck are protected by a 150 l. At the same time, the
inflation of the bag creates a hollow space around the head. www.snowpulse.com
"Askin® Accessories Award: Myway®" An ancient concept rediscovered:
Catharina Wikström was inspired by the technique of ancient documents. Resort
maps, printed on durable paper, rolled and placed into two small plastic tubes,
are easily unrolled even with gloves on. Small enough to hide in a jacket
pocket. www.daylightagain.com
