Asia Outdoor Celebrates 10th Anniversary with the entire Outdoor Industry
From July 23 – 26, 2015, the tenth Asia Outdoor was held in Nanjing, an anniversary that was celebrated with the blessings of the entire outdoor industry. At the show, a total of 617 exhibitors (2014: 613) presented their outdoor products and innovations in over 50000 m2 of exhibition space, with 19002 trade visitors (2014: 17298) and 459 journalists in attendance
Representatives from Messe Friedrichshafen, the partner of the Asia Outdoor, also attended the show’s tenth anniversary and expressed pride in what the Asia Outdoor has achieved over the past decade. Stefan Reisinger, Head of the OutDoor, has been very pleased to witness the success of the Asia Outdoor. “Overall growth in the outdoor sector in China has slowed down over the last two or three years, but that has meant that the most important Chinese brands have pulled together, committing themselves to using this show as a single platform to put on a magnificent presentation of everything outdoor. That is truly bringing the whole industry together. We have been able to build a real community over the last ten years, and that is one major element of our success with the show here,” Reisinger said.
Andreas Brand, Mayor of Friedrichshafen and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Messe Friedrichshafen, commented, “It is the tenth anniversary of the Asia Outdoor, a success story of two of the world’s leading exhibition centres. We are therefore celebrating the past ten years of our success together, as well as the common success that we will enjoy in the future. “
“I am very glad to see how the quantity and quality of trade visitors has improved a lot this year. 90% of decision-makers at Chinese outdoor specialty stores and distributors came to the show. Attending the Asia Outdoor in Nanjing has become a must attend event for people in the outdoor industry,” said Richard Li, Project Director of the Asia Outdoor.
During the show, the COA released the China outdoor industry report and convened the COA industry standard press conference, at which it presented quality standards for down products. The COA would like to provide consumers with high quality products that comply with a certified standard for down products, purchasing channels and monitoring agencies.
The first COA Outdoor China Summit was also successfully held July 24-25, during the show. “The summit is the COA’s latest achievement and will take place annually. COA uses this platform to pass on new knowledge, exchange experience, strengthen cooperation and brighten the future of the outdoor industry,” said Mr. Sheng Faqiang, Chairman of the COA and Chairman of the Board of Toread. The topics covered at the summit included Chinese outdoor brands’ strategy for the future; the future of brick-and-mortar outdoor stores; the organization and design of sports events; and others. More than 400 people attended the summit and 90% of attendees confirmed that they will attend the summit again next year.
The supporting programs and events at the Asia Outdoor, such as the Asia Outdoor Dry Tooling Challenge, the Running Village, the forum for the development of outdoor education for teenagers, the Diving Village, the Outdoor Club Village, the Asia Outdoor Industry Award and the night race, also proved to be very popular.
This year, 26 products from 22 brands won the 2015 Asia Outdoor Industry Award, among them thirteen products from Chinese brands, demonstrating that Chinese outdoor brands have been paying more and more attention to product innovation and design. The Running Village was enlarged to 729 square meters this year, with 30 running brands participating. Over 1700 running enthusiasts took part in the night race on July 25 at Purple Mountain, which was organized as a cooperative effort between the Asia Outdoor and Sanfo and sponsored by Northland.
Mr. Zhong Chengzhan, Vice Chairman of COA and General Manager of KAILAS, spoke highly of the show. “The Asia Outdoor is not only a platform for business and communication, but also an annual celebration of the Chinese outdoor industry.”
According to the Asia Outdoor trade visitor’s survey, 93% of visitors were satisfied with the show and 95% of visitors confirmed that they will attend the Asia Outdoor again next year. The 11th Asia Outdoor will take place in Nanjing, China, from June 30 to July 3, 2016.